₦airaland Forum

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I met Ikenna Obieze last year when I just started my horsemanship. A tall, brilliant chap with a tired smile. He always wore that smile, he told me, to ward off the spirit of aggression that seemed to threaten his relationship with people especially, his patients."Excessive work in a suffocating working environment have a way of making people angry so, I have to smile away the anger,"he smiled. I had just started my obstetrics and gynecology posting when he was about to Start his neurosurgery posting. And that same day, in the common room, he received a text from his girlfriend saying goodbye to him, breaking up with him. He showed me that text with hot tears running down his cheeks. But, he did not cry for long; he was just starting the second of three ninety days, 24hours calls. And soon as he showed me the text, his phone started ringing; some new accident victims had just been brought into the hospital. There was no room for petty emotions or his work would be compromised. He would have to toss his life away, immediately, in order to save the sick. Yet, he too, was sick, only that he could not notice. But I saw it in his eyes. That was the day I swore never to become a surgeon. Or even to do residency in any clinical field at all. That singular encounter with Dr Ikenna completely discouraged me. I couldn't just imagine myself, after the hell of medical school, writing primaries - a hectic West African exam that qualifies one for the residency program, that then leads into years of more hell, like Ikenna was experiencing. The program is designed to train would-be specialist in the different areas of specialization in medical and surgical practices. It takes on the average of six years to complete the program. But, in reality, it takes a lot longer because, it is designed in such a way that ninety percent fails the exams, each time it is conducted."It's relatively, deliberate"an examiner once told me."It is to ensure that any would be consultant is properly trained, taken through the furnace, so that he would be able to handle a patient's life and the teaching hospital. It is a holistic training,"he concluded. That same day, I made up my mind to go for master in pharmacology instead of residency. And when I discussed it with my consultant, he gave me a stern warning."You'll never become a consultant,"he warned."You'll never be a CMD, and you will watch your mates leap frog you in the practice."I just sat there, nodding as he babbled. In the end I just said"no problem". My, mind was made up. I wasn't going to be a slave in the hospital, a prisoner for up to a decade like Ikenna had chosen. And I was right. Ikenna's life became more distorted as time went by. Not because his fiancé had left him because, as she lamented, he wasn't giving her enough attention. Not because he was often seen dosing off at almost every corner of the hospital because he never had time to sleep at night. Not because some people started doubting his sanity; lack of sleep actually affects our mental health and Ikenna had not slept adequately for two years now owing to excessive, overwhelming work load. It was rather because of what happened in the middle of his neurosurgery posting. It was on a cold December monday. We were watching a premier League match between Chelsea and liverpool when his phone rang for the millionth time. It was a patient calling. A patient that had been previously in coma and had just recovered. Ikenna, as usual, ran off for the millionth time. "It's that patient I told you about, let me go and empty his urine bag. The nurses won't go close to him, you know. He is violent and HIV Positive; they are afraid of getting smeared by his ever bleeding hand", he said to me in one breath, as he ran off. "But, you can't be doing your work and do the nurses work, too,"I countered. "Is that what you are considering; of what use is it to wait for the nurses? In this practice you, the doctor, is responsible for the patient's life and if you keep waiting for the non committed support staff, you'll lose a lot of patients."He replied in one breath, as usual, and ran off. The match was nearing the end, when he came back, so sad and sullen. He had a slight dressing on his forehead. I noticed it as he quietly came and sat beside me, dropping his head to cry. "That bastered just gave me a needle prick", he lamented. I was shocked. That was the first time I knew what risk faces me daily, in medical practice. "How did it happen,"I asked, a bit angry that he didn't take precautions. He shook his head at me."Of course I took precautions, Emeka, but as I bent to fix his catheter, he pulled out his Butterfly cannula and stuck it on my forehead." "You should go for Post exposure prophylaxis, you know,"I proffered. "I got it covered already"he feebly replied. But, he was shaken and really scared. "Who knows.... Just pray for me so I wouldn't just become infected doing this job."He resumed watching the match. "We have to pray for one another,"I said. I would later have my own encounter with that kind of hazard three times but, luckily for me, the patients were not infected. Each has happened owing to tiredness during my own surgery posting. After staying awake for three weeks at a stretch, it was inevitable that I would injure myself in the process of caring for my patients. Lack of sleep makes people less careful and shaky. It stems from over work which stems from the fact that very few doctors are left in the country because, majority have run away from the stifling working conditions in the country. And work has got heavier and heavier, as time went by. And again, more patients are coming in as economic hardship hit the populace harder and harder. And just like Ikenna, over sixteen thousand resident doctors sweat and bleed daily, spending every second of every day in the hospital, working to save patients'lives. Often times you could see it in their faces, the excessive suffering they go through. Tattered and hungry, these brave doctors keep the hospitals ticking and without them, there would be no teaching hospitals. They are bleeding to become capable consultants in the future, to create a better healthy future for the nation. The Hazzard allowance is five thousand naira. Greatly unfair. Even for hazards like the ones both Ikenna and I suffered. Even ones bigger than ours. But, that's not the major difficulty these days. Sadly, they too, are not immune to the difficulty facing every serious minded intellectual in the country. The same leadership problems pushing intellectuals, daily, out of this country to greener pastures, real greener pastures. Problems like poor renumeration, not in any way commiserate with the amount of effort invested in working for the government.

ocpaschal:
Ok.... but does this mean my bro would write the 3 exams (USMLE) within one year? What is d full meaning of USMLE

not necessarily within one year.... the maximum year interval is 7yrs, bro make more research there are lot of USMLE group on Facebook and telegram, assuming we wanna practice in the UK he's writing PLAB..... note those afformentioned exams are quite expensive. USMLE step 1 almost cost like 1.2M or so not to talk of step 2ck , step 2 cs and finally step 3.
hope I've answered your questions?

ocpaschal:
My brother is studying medicine in Ukraine with d desire to be a doctor, and he will graduate in 2021. He intends to travel direct from Ukraine to the USA to practice as a doctor. Is it possible for him to be get certified to practice as a doctor in the US and to work too

your brother will have to sit for USMLE..... it's a three step exam, for him to get a placement for residency in the US or practice as medic.

Adeolaissacutie:
Hello... I'm currently studying English and literary studies in unilag ..100level but I've always loved mass communication but my aggregate wasn't upto mass communication cut off mark so I switched to English language in unilag... please is it possible to change my course from English language to mass communication in unilag?


Please advise me....

Please help me push it to the front page

hi, you can.
after your year one u'll obtain interfaculty transfer form I believe with good cgpa you can
PS: I'm also an 100lev chemical engineering unilag

hello everyone, how are we doing? ..... hope we don dey holla our books cos early preparation and consistency and hardwork will make it easier in the long run. wat we just need is right material and dedication.
here are some tips sha

SET A HIGH TARGET SCORE
START EARLY ENOUGH
STUDY FOR JAMB THE RIGHT WAY
STUDY CONSISTENTLY
WORK WITH THE SYLLABUS
USE JAMB RECOMMENDED TEXTBOOKS
USE JAMB PAST QUESTIONS RIGHTLY
LEARN HOW TO MANAGE YOUR TIME
KNOW AND IMPROVE YOUR WEAK POINTS
ENGAGE WITH LIKE MINDS
STAY UPDATED

I hope luck and favour will Cross our path in the forth coming utme.


teamMBBS

front page material

Ademola47:
There we go again

hi bro, u mailed me.

omo this lecture theater don full oo op, we move

.

Babalakin34:
Good day to all.
I'm an aspiring medic, I have also done plethora of research about the work ahead, so I came about posts where Doctors talk about how hard it is to get a placement for Residency. One doctor said it took him 5years to get a residency placement.
It's quite sad to see that happen, I must confess.
I will like anyone with a good knowledge about how residency placement works to kindly explain.
What are the things that can make one secure a placement almost immediately? Does it have anything to do with merit, state of origin or tye University one attended?

Bro can one get a placement for residency in neurosurgery here in Nigeria?....are there surgeon who perform the operation here or dey fly their patient out?.... and what is the cost of getting a residency in neurosurgery ?


Also bro.... kidney transplant surgeon nephrologist I guess shea Dem dey do ham for naija also how can one specialize in it here....abi na only medicine dem dey practice here not surgery.

.

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I was on my way to work that morning though I was not feeling too well myself. I was on antimalaria drugs. I would have taken sick leave but many doctors had gone on leave in the department already so if I went on another leave, it would really affect the number of patients we could attend to.


I received a call from one of my patients asking if I was in the hospital so that he could come and see me he was not feeling fine. As I answered him on phone he noticed my voice was cracking somehow so he asked me "Dr Ade you sound somehow like you are not feeling fine" I answered him yes I am having malaria. I am on antimalarial drugs."


He jokingly laughed and said "sorry o so you doctors too fall sick?I thought you people were immune or better still the sicknesses already knew you people as their boss they dont come near you people." I mustered strength to laugh and answer him "we are not gods o,neither are we immortal, doctors fall sick,doctors die,we develop cancers,we develop depression,we have hypertension.In fact many times it is even worse as many of us forget to do check up on our health every day,every week and every year.



We do forget our lives, busy saving other lives. We do forget *to check even the basic tests* until we come down with high blood pressure or stroke or high blood sugar. This is our story as medical doctors. It is unbelievable to tell you that we dont even have enough time to *do exercise and* get those benefits that we *counsel* and *educate* people to keep doing and *getting* the benefits. A *typical* medical doctor gets to work 7am, *enters* theatre, *starts* operation, *do* like 7 operations, finishes around 4 pm *and* if he is the same doctor on evening call that day, he continues attending to patients till 8 am the following day.

Then *he rushes to take his bath in one bathroom inside the hospital and continues that day's work without going home and no* break fast until later in the afternoon. This is the fate and plight of so many doctors all over the world. Do you know if the call is a weekend call the doctor continues this marathon of not going home till monday evening of following week and may not even get enough good food to eat."

The patient was really touched but jokingly again said "wow sorry o Dr Ade but you people's money is heavy alert so it will make up for all the stress." I laughed at the issue of medical doctors getting heavy money alerts. I told him I said "may be in some countries like Saudi Arabia or like canada or united states, medical doctors' remuneration and conditions of service are far better than developing countries that are in a sorry state. Local government chairmen in Nigeria will buy a medical doctor with all his family and he will feed them for 10 years without stepping into any office to work. Not to talk of governors,senators or president and their appointees at local,state and federal government levels.

He was shocked . He asked in amazement "doctor you dont mean it? I think *politicians collect almost the same amount of money you doctors collect.*" I laughed out loud again and still laughing as I entered the hospital that morning. I ended the discussion with him by telling him "We are like you patients in all ramifications, the only edge we have over you is our knowledge of the diseases and the cure we apply to ourselves but despite this,we still fall like all mortals sir." The patient actually felt for me.He greeted me passionately. Wishing me quick recovery. He bid me temporary good bye till we would see later.

I got to my office area. Despite my not feeling too well, hundreds of patients were already sitting in the waiting area in front of my office. They were so happy to see me that I had come to save their lives whereas I was struggling to save mine too. This is the irony of life of many medical doctors. They all heartily greeted me "Dr Ade good morning, you are highly welcome sir. How is family?". Some had even stood up to start telling me one thing or the other before I even opened my door to drop my bag. As I was listening to some of them with side complaints before I started the day work, I saw the matron arranging them, shouting at the top of her voice, same with the the medical records personnel trying to organise and control the crowd. I sighed I said God this is the situation in our various hospitals all over the nation, every day. What do you think it would be? when 200 million people wait for 40,000 medical doctors to attend to them. So you can begin to imagine the health gap. *It is really heart breaking and shattering.*

I entered my office to drop my bag and quickly checked on my colleague who was on call overnight, his name was Dr Victor. At least let me hear how the overnight call went with him. Hope he was able to have a little rest. As I got to the delivery room, I saw him running up and down to save the life of one pregnant woman who delivered twins at home and was rushed down to the hospital bleeding seriously. I joined him in running from pillar to post . I joined him in raising more bags of blood to transfuse to the woman. We were rushing her to the theartre,calling Anasthetists, to get ready for the emergency. Everybody was doing all they could in their own fields to save this patient's life.

Tranfusion of blood was ongoing as we were trying to stop the bleeding. Drips were being given. Drugs to close the womb were being given. We were checking for any tears in her birth canal. Patient started losing consciousness due to the huge amount of blood she had lost after the delivery at home and on her way to hospital in hold up. The patient had 9 children before this twin delivery, making it 11 children. We tried all we could do in the ward. Then we rushed her to the theatre considering the option of removing her womb since all the ways to stop the bleeding didn't work, our last option was to remove her womb to save her life. As we entered theatre, before we could even raise a knife,she breathed her last. The silence was loud. The sorrow was heavy.Everything came to an halt. The long silence was broken by Dr Victor crying. He broke down in tears. Everybody's eyes fixed on the empathic doctor,who did all he could do to save the life of a mother of 11 but lost the battle. I said *"DOCTOR VICTOR STOP CRYING YOU DID YOUR BEST"*. He was unconsolable.

He started telling me all the efforts he made since the patient was brought 4 hours earlier. How he had gone to blood bank more than 11 times.How he had run to pharmacy to get drips and injection drugs himself to save time. How he had called many other doctors for help for blood donation. The patient took up to 6 blood bags before succumbing to the call of nature.I held his hands and took him to my consulting room.I counselled him and deeply felt for him.I pleaded with him to go home and rest. The rest of us continued the day work. As Dr Victor stepped out of my consulting room to go home, many lessons engulfed my mind both from my feeling sick and still working; to the frustration of Dr victor not being able to save that woman.

Let me share the lessons with you

Lesson number 1:

Many doctors and other health workers I have met in the course of my training and practice have human feelings. They sacrifice their lives everyday in exchange for their patients. They sacrifice their family time to save other families. May God bless all the DEDICATED doctors and health workers worlwide who truly sacrifice daily to keep others sound and safe.

Lesson number 2:

This is my admonition to all doctors and other health workers all over the world. Please do your best to save your patients and stay with them till the end if the end has indeed come. There are some battles you will not win,learn to know and live with this. Even if you will love to save all,some will still go because destiny call must be answered. So please learn to accept what you can't change. Learn to let go when the maker said no and dont see it as a failure on your part as far as you have done your best. The best of doctor cannot stop death when God has said time up.

Lesson number 3:

Doctors and other health workers,learn to attend to your own health in order to be alive for your patients. A dead doctor cannot save a sick patient.If you are sick, see other doctors and present yourself as a patient and stop self treatment. Be taken care of. You also have family that their lives and livelihood depend on you.

Lesson number 4:

Patients please stop attributing God's status to doctors and other health workers. They are as human as you. The fall. They fail. They cry. They mourn. They are not immune to any diseases you are prone to. Doctors die of cancer, depression and stroke.

Please patients, care for your doctors too especially when they at their lows. Show that you too care about them,not only one way. Doctors appreciate caring patients too.

Thank you for your time for reading this true life story. I hope you have learnt one or two lessons from it.



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yhemmsy:
Yeah I actually got a way to do that, that was how I did the once I sent to those who came to my WhatsApp DM, find time to drop them on ur Google drive then share the link here with us...
Here is an example, it is a link to lamlad physics:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/16DOpp4SmVkd1yghgwoFhaG8bvkq9GTin/view?usp=drivesdk

damn niggar....you just save a niggar
may the heavens bless you bro.

drop link for explicit biology nd I'm done niggar.

Cetacean419:
Wouldn't it be better if you all have a WhatsApp or a Facebook group chat? This ain't good at all.

bro you can create a WhatsApp group then drop the link.

Heartlessbanker:
is this how to study; by memorising past question anwsers verbatim? its such a shame what learning has been reduced to in nigeria.

heyyyy!!!...sis can't you see the text I said I've gotten in my first post?....is there any offence in sharing question with fellow aspirants?...aunty pls get a life... there's more to life than wailing over nairaland.
Good day anty.

Vitamin17:
This question is confusing Let me try, B

aah!!!... it's antonyms oo recalcitrant is right

Gemineye:
I go for A

B.... accusations is right

Gemineye:
I go for A

B.... accusations is right

Gemineye:
B

C is the ans

Vitamin17:
Nawa o I go for B

HCL is used to test the presence of lime the soil

which of the following is used to test for the presence of lime in a soil sample?
A. H2SO4(aq)
B. NaOH(aq)
C. HCl(aq)
D. HNO3(aq)

The mammalian lung is made air tight by the
A. pleural cavity
B. mucous membrane
C. pleural membrane
D. diaphragm

The man advised his wife to steer a middle course in the argument between her and her employers?
A. be recalcitrant
B. be compromising
C. be unrepentant
D. be relenting

We were warned not to indulge in recriminations?
A. counter-charges
B. accusations
C. indicretions
D. frivolous allegations

Good morning guys , have a blessed week ahead


Our soldiers are starting to zero ....... the enemy?
A. at
B. in on
C. unto
D. on it

Cetacean419:
I finished with MECH currently an Agriculturist. There are not a lot of Jobs out there for us the engineers and NSE are just f*cking up. All they know is to Collect Money and Register Engineers including Technologists.
Let me give you three reasons to consider before joining Medicine:
* Do you have interest in thinking critically ?
* Do you care about people ?
* Do you not mind working in a very uncomfortable condition?
If the three are genuine yes, then fine go ahead.

Yes bro.....I do care alot about people to be sincere what actually took to faculty of engineering was nothing but pressure from relatives I later realized I'm on the wrong path... make I write next jamb first to know what action to take next.

Cetacean419:
I have been in Nairaland for 13 years. I deactivated my previous account to prevent stories. If you want real MBBS story visit the Medical Aspirants thread.
Medicine is becoming too saturated with new intakes of student. You can Check how many student apply for medicine in each school and also check their intakes.
The only advantage you can have if UTME doesn't work Is the Predegree.
Back when I was in school there was about 50-70 student in each level excluding 100 level but now ehn it is over 120 in a class and they will end up dropping only 10 at most. My younger brother is in Dentistry.
I kid you not If you have any C's in SSCE and about 290 you won't enter into a Federal School except your post utme is Extremely excellent. Fine state schools can accept you. But Unilag I went to will reject you fiam fiam.I studied engineering.
In short strive hard and you won't regret it.

bro, I'm currently an engineering student in unilag chemical engineering to be precise but my love for medicine won't stop hunting my concise.. just wanna shoot my shot next jamb maybe nature will smile at my side. let hope for the best sha

Cetacean419:
Only 1/3rd of student here will get MBBS.

what made you say so bro?... what if your assumption isn't true?

Gemineye:
A

bro check again the ans is endodermis