I'm ANA HIFAZ and this is My Medical Student Life
Nabeel Ibrahim
Published on: 04/10/2018
Third Year Belarus Grodno State Medical University Aishath Ana Hifaz
University: Grodno State Medical University
Current Year: Third
Medical Specialty Interested in: Oncology/ Psychiatry
Most Inspiring Person: My parents. They are the most hardworking and dedicated people I have ever met.
Single Quality that defines a great Doctor: Empathy
First of all, walk us through the step-by-step processes that you went through to get to where you are today?
I studied O’ Levels in Aminiya School where my love for science considerably grew stronger. This is because of teachers like Nashwa Miss who always tried to teach beyond the compass of the syllabus. By the time I finished my O’ Levels I’d started researching more about medicine and universities.
While I was studying in Villa International High School (VIHS), I went to meet a Sri Lankan agent who was in Malé for a few days and that is where I learnt about Belarus. I decided to apply with my best friends and here we are now.
After A’ Levels, I volunteered in IGMH for around two months and then I worked in Medica Hospital. During this time I met amazing doctors such as Dr. Abdul Azeez Ahmed (Cardiologist) and Dr. Mohamed Shifan (Onco-Surgeon) who really inspired me to dream big and work hard every single day.
When did you first realize you wanted to study medicine?
I have wanted to become a doctor for as long as I can remember. As a child I got quite sick often due to severe Esophageal reflux disease and I visited doctors quite frequently. I noticed how some doctors lacked empathy and as a child my dream was to become a “nice doctor”.
Take us through a typical study day.
My classes begin at either 8:30 or 9 am so I wake up around an hour earlier to get ready.
We have one lecture everyday along with 2-3 classes. We do have breaks in between classes (30-45 mins) but it's mostly spent traveling because different classes are in different buildings.
Our classes end around 5 pm every day other than on Fridays. Hence, we always eat lunch from the cafeteria or from a nearby restaurant during one of the breaks.
If I have an exam the next day I usually stay in the library until it closes. Otherwise I go home. By the time I reach home it’s usually 5:30 pm. Once I reach home I usually take a break in which I either Netflix or YouTube.
Around 6:30 pm I usually start studying again. Since, I’m in the third year now there’s always a lot of reading to do for the next day. I always make my own notes using books and lecture notes provided by my university.
Dinner is around 9:30 pm and I go to bed by 10 pm. I don’t cook dinner everyday because I usually make meal preps for the whole week. This is something I recommend to all Medical students. Especially, those in 3rd and 4th year because it saves a lot of time and it’s an easy way to eat healthy food without having to spend hours every night cooking.
What is your favorite subject in medical school? Why?
Anatomy and Pathology. Anatomy taught me how the human body is built and Pathology teaches me how it’s changed as a result of different diseases.
How do you manage a study schedule during the holidays?
If we get a public holiday it’s not that big of a deal for us because we always have a lot to study. If we have mini exams we spent those days studying as well. Other than that we get two holidays; one in winter and one in summer. Winter break is around a week long and sometimes I study during winter break but I don’t really follow a schedule. During summer break I don’t study much because during the previous months, almost all of my time was spent studying without any real breaks so I feel like my brain needs a break.
Name your favorite medical text book.
Macleod’s Clinical Examination by Graham Douglas, Fiona Nicol, Colin Robertson.
Why do you think more and more students keep dropping out of medical school nowadays?
I don’t think it’s just nowadays. “Medical school is hard” is something we hear all the time but never fully understand until we go through the everyday struggles of a medical student. It is said that one in 10 medical students experience suicidal thoughts.
According to a systematic review and meta-analysis of the prevalence of depression, depressive symptoms, and suicidal ideation among medical students published by the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) at the end of 2016, which reviewed over 200 studies in 43 countries.
Once you become a medical student your whole life is about studying and spending time in hospitals, or in front of corpses hoping and trying to learn new things everyday. Pressure from family and people around you to succeed makes it worse for a lot of people, not to mention the thousands in student loans and debts. Not everyone is able to go undertake all of this and still graduate medical school with stable mental health and proper education. Hence, many students drop out.
What do you know now that you wish you knew when you first started medical school?
Where you study is not the most important thing for a doctor. What truly matters is the amount of work you put in and the hours you spend studying.
What do you think needs to change in the health industry of the Maldives today?
A lot, actually! Rather than investing in building big, fancy looking hospitals, more money needs to be invested in better equipment inside the hospitals. Doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals need to be paid better and appreciated for their hard work. Quality healthcare needs to be available not only in the capital but also in other islands.
Priority needs to be given to Maldivian doctors over foreigners. The misconception that doctors from neighboring countries being better than our own needs to be a thing of the past. We work just as hard as students from other countries and we need to be given equal opportunities as them in our own country.
I also believe that more public awareness programs need to be conducted where people are taught things like basic life support, importance of vaccination and preventative medicine.
Finally, what is the one tip/advice you want to give to our readers?
If you are a medical student then work hard and always remember that you are going to be responsible for people's lives one day. Don’t skip a chapter because it’s boring! You never know how useful it might be one day.
Try to compete with yourself instead of competing with other people. Try to always outdo yourself and this way you will do better without pressuring yourself to be better than others. And amidst everything, take time for yourself and remember that your first priority should always be you. It’s important to stay healthy not only physically but also mentally.
The My Medical Student Life series was created for the sole purpose of helping medical students and aspiring doctors on their journey to become a successful Maldivian Healthcare Professional. Have a suggestion, idea or question? Email us.
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23/04/2020 18:05