University: General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University (KDU)

Current Year: First

Medical Specialty Interested in: Neurology/ Psychiatry

Most Inspiring Person: My parents

Single Quality that defines a great Doctor: Humane

First of all, walk us through the step-by-step processes that you went through to get to where you are today?

I completed my O'levels in Irusadhiyya School back in 2012, and thereafter did my A'levels in Addu High School. I placed 2nd in both O'level and A'level National Top Tens. After graduating from AHS in 2015, I started working at my uncle's Dhiraagu shop which is of course, completely unrelated to my field. 

Even so, I worked there for a year before heading off to Grodno, Belarus. I heard about the university through a friend and she was actually one of my roommates while I was there. 

Around a year or so later, after actually completing my first year of Med school, due to some personal reasons, I decided to apply to KDU and got approved. I had known of KDU ever since my high school senior went there. 

Here I am a year later, having started my first year in Med school for the second time in March of 2018.

When did you first realize you wanted to study medicine?

I don't know for sure when I first "realized" that this was the field for me, but I do remember exactly when I started saying it. It's pretty silly to be honest. I was in 3rd grade. I was in the same class as my cousin with whom I had a bit of competition going on in just about everything. When she wrote in her English essay that she wanted to be a scientist I knew I had to come up with something equally cool. So who is as cool as scientist, and who also deals with Sciency stuff? Why, a doctor of course. 

Ever since then, it was pretty much an automatic answer whenever I was asked, "what do you want to be when you grow up?". Back then I never put much thought to it. I even changed my mind a couple of times, switching from Archaeology and then to Meteorology back in 6th grade. 

Of course, I switched my answer back to medicine later on. Though I can't say for sure when I began to be more earnest in saying so, it was heavily influenced by my O'level biology teacher, Jacob Sir. By making biology a fun subject to study, he pretty much solidified my interest in the field.

Take us through a typical study day.

I normally wake up around 6.45 am, so that I have enough time to iron my uniform (yes, we wear uniforms), and am done getting ready by 7.30 am. It's around a 15 minute commute from my apartment to University. However, signing the attendance and the dash to the fourth floor of the Medical faculty is a journey in itself. 

Classes end at 4.15 pm but it could end as early as 12.30 pm. It all depends on the schedule. Timetable for the coming weeks is mailed to us at the end of the week, typically Friday. 

How I go about the rest of the day after classes depends on the upcoming schedule. For instance if I have PPD (English classes) the next day, it's pretty much a given that I will do nothing but procrastinate the whole day after uni. But say I have a physiology tutorial in the coming week, then my whole weekend and week's schedule will be adjusted so that I have time to prepare for it. Being a first year we are not that busy, though we are a bit more rushed than our seniors were, due to commencing the study year a bit late. 

Currently, on Wednesdays and Fridays I go to Sinhala classes (beginner's) with my roommates after university. This way, by the time we begin Clinicals, we can manage some basic conversations with patients. 

Tip: If it is not already part of the university curriculum, start learning the main language spoken wherever you are studying as soon as you can. Don't wait for your Clinicals to start.

If you had a chance for a "do-over" in life, what would you do differently?

Go to Grodno right after my A'levels. One reason is I feel like the year after A'levels was pretty wasteful for me. As much as I had learnt to deal with customers, I did not need a whole year to realize the many different type of people I could meet. 

The main reason though is that the year in Grodno, was year of growth for me in a lot of ways. After all, you are miles away from home in a nation so foreign to yours in every single way. The only friendly faces being fellow new students and 3 or 4 seniors. Hence, you are pretty much forced to grow up. It was an amazing year and not one I regret. 

What is a skill required in medical school?

Patience and perseverance. No matter how much interest you have in medicine, few of us can sit through reading paragraph after paragraph. Especially, once you have no choice but to study it. Once the novelty of being in Med uni wears off, foreboding sets in when you see those long bodies of text after text. 

Our lecturers swear by Ganong's and Last's Anatomy so that basically means a lot of reading for us. Add in the fact that those student problem memes have now become all too real. Highlighting now means coloring every single line because it might be included in the MCQ paper. Just the idea of learning can fill you with dread. 

Plus, this is the beginning of the course. Once Clinicals start, time constraints and more will set in. I can already feel that stress seeing my seniors. You need some patience and perseverance to mentally push through Med uni.

Name your favorite medical text book.

Though I use Last's and Ellis as well, my go to is Moore's Clinically Oriented Anatomy by Keith L. Moore

Do you usually get time to cook meals or do you eat outside?

I don't get time to prepare breakfast. Sometimes I eat a banana or two before heading off. We have tea break from 11 to 11.15 am and later lunch from 12.15 to 13.15 pm everyday. So, I usually buy myself a Milo during tea break and Veg rice during lunch break at the faculty canteen. For dinner it could either be a simple cup noodles, some pasta that I cook for myself or the classic, sleep.

What do you know now that you wish you knew when you first started medical school?

Being a first year student, not much. 

There is one thing though. You might be a topper in your school in A'levels but in Uni, that can change.

Nearly everyone in your class in Uni, specially for Med, could be toppers. So there is no need to lose sleep over not getting first place or whatever in Uni. Just work hard and pass well. 

Also, that if a lecturer, especially PL (one of our lecturers) tells you to learn something, note it down and make sure to learn it. That's a little heads up for anyone planning to come to KDU.

Finally, what is the one tip/advice you want to give to our readers?

This first one is actually an advice from one of our lecturers which really resonates with me; don't let Medicine consume you. 

Yes, it is a demanding field. Even so, time and pace yourself well and make time to have fun. Hangout with your friends and classmates. Have hobbies. Go to the gym. Be active in general. 

Another advice, this one from a senior, get along well with your class/batch-mates. Group studies and peer-learning is extremely helpful so make sure to get the most out of your peers. 

A more specific advice is of dissection. As one of my seniors said, during dissections you can either be the bus driver or a passenger. And it is the driver who determines the ride so don't resign yourself to being the passenger forever. 

For those like me who didn't get a job in a related field, don't fret too much. At the end of the day, you will be doing Clinicals too. Yet, if you have the chance get a job in the field, test the waters and see how you feel about doing medicine. After all, the best time to change your mind is before you begin.

Finally, don't get into the field unless you have genuine interest. Don't do it because your parents want you to do it and don't consider this your only option because you are a high achiever.

You as a doctor, are going to be responsible for lives. Even if you get to have fun, this is a demanding study and practice. It takes considerable mental energy to keep going and having zero interest in what you're studying is not only unhelpful but can be very detrimental to your own mental health.

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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