The thought of having to go to another school abroad
to get some experience as a medical student sounded like so much fun, and it
was a lot of fun I tell you. However the
part of applying for it wasn’t so much fun.
I started applying for my electives about 8 month
before the expected date of commencement and oh ,It was it so stressful!
Not to discourage anyone though, but you have to be
ready to fill a lot of form and write a lot of letters. I had to request for
letters of recommendation from my Dean and some lecturers, my transcript from
the principal record officer, to mention but a few. With the College of
Medicine still largely using the manual system of record keeping, it took about
three weeks to get the recommendation letter and another one month to get my
transcript. I also filled various form from the school which I was applying to-
Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary’s University,
London.
Before I was picked, I had to pay €200, so, it was a
50-50% chance that I would be picked.
Aside the school runs, it was mandatory to write
exams to certify that you can read , write and speak English called the IELTS;
before now, our WAEC result was accepted
( I thought it was ridiculous though
since from my primary school all the way to the university, I've been
thought in English)
Moving on to my story, I didn’t have to write the
exams because I already had an equivalent t that exams called the IGCSE which I
had done in secondary school and so I was allowed to continue my application. I
finally got all my documents and mailed them to the school, as my start date was
getting closer. The School I applied to also had its own perks as I had to be
calling them every now and then, spending a lot of airtime tracking how my
application had gone, as I am not their primary student. I was really delayed by
the school as I got my Confirmation of Acceptance for studies late. Getting the
visa took about thee weeks. It seemed like a really long wait wondering how I
would feel if I didn’t get it: it was more like waiting for my MBBS result.
I finally got there and it was a roller coaster ride
of fun, bags of so much fun. I was assigned to a supervisor in Pediatrics (
Which was the main area I picked for my
electives) , Dr Lee Noimark and Dr Charles Worth ( Some of the coolest
consultants). I got to behave like a Bart student for 4 weeks, attending ward
rounds and clinics. I even carried out some procedures that I wouldn’t have
been able to do back home. I got to do a Rectal biopsy for a child who was
suspected to have Hirschsprung disease , did allergy testing on some
children, got to learn how to use the
ultrasound machine in the cardiology clinic and saw children that had Atria Septal Defect (ASD) and Ventricular Septal
Defect (VSD).
In one of the clinic, I got to see a lady with Turners
syndrome. I also got to scrub into about 5 surgeries in Pediatrics Surgery , I
was the Assistant surgeon cutting sutures, it felt super duper great! The
coolest part was when one of the Professors I was on the round with made me
write in the clinical notes during the ward rounds, which was not particularly
long, as we took a break with one of the
consultants buying coffee for everyone at the cafeteria.
I literally had a one-on-one experience with the
patients , clerking and examining them
and also a one student to one lecturer experience. I saw the latest devices
they had, like the infusion-pump for diabetes patients, which made noise when
there was an abnormality with the blood sugar level and also had a graphical
recording of the pattern of blood sugar level.
I also met a Nigerian,
who was a resident doctor there and it was really cool to see someone like that.
And every minute I said I was a Nigerian medical student, everyone looked at me with so much
surprise and excitement, asking questions from prevailing diseases, politics to Boko Haram, why JOHESU was always fighting doctors, if truly our doctors were proud as portrayed by the media. They wanted to know why our politicians keep traveling to their country for minor illness,, rational behind the persistent strike in the health sector to the health care system in general and so many other issues.
I had a great
time seeing how prompt their services were , how doctors did not have patients
overload as patients came in at their appointment time, how their MTD
(Multidisciplinary Team) seminars with nurses , doctors, pharmacist, lab
scientist, social workers, psychologist, speech therapist, all sat down
to discuss a particular patient, and also taking tea and biscuits on the side.
At every instance, I really wished that the Nigerian Health care system was
could be this welcoming .
On the side though, I went round the whole of London!
Oh well, they have one of the most complicated and yet awesome transportation
system.
And everyone I meet was very friendly. I made friends,
who I still keep in touch with; who also helped me to have such a great
experience that nobody can take away from me and was all worth it in the end.
SIMPLE
TIPS FOR APPLYING FOR STUDENT ELECTIVES
1) Start early
2) Determine the type of elective you want to do.
There are basically two: Clinical electives and Research Electives.
3) Determine the elective time.
4) Write down a list of required documents.
5) Plan to do any required examination: IELTS,
TOELF, USMLE Step 1.
6) Once you have been accepted for an elective
rotation…
*Apply for visa ASAP.
*Make plans for your accommodation
* Lastly, get weather appreciate clothes, a big box
to store all the things your friends would ask you to buy from ‘ abroad’ and of
course a good camera to snap pictures.
By
Solomon
Rebecca
College
of Medicine of The University of Lagos (CMUL),
Idi-Araba,
Lagos State,
Nigeria.
This
Article was culled from The Association of Medical Students University of Lagos
(AMSUL) Digest 2015 Edition.
Excellent write up
ReplyDeleteIs there like some form of permission given before adopting this post, because I believe its a copyright material.
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