University
International Medical University

Current Year 
Fifth

Medical Specialty Interested in 
Honestly, I have no idea.

One Word that Describes You 
Helpful

Most Intriguing subject in Medical School 
Internal Medicine

What was your path to Medical School like?

I finished my A'levels in 2013 and spent a gap year giving tuition at home. 

I then joined IMU in August of 2014. I didn't apply to any other universities. This is partly because once my results were finalized there were no intakes available and also because IMU seemed appealing to me. 

I heard about IMU from a friend of mine. I saw it from the Malaysian Education Expo as well. So I went to their website and liked the course. I did get some help from an agent but mainly did my application on my own.

What was the biggest difference between your expectations of entering Med School when you were doing A'level, and the actual experience of being there?

It's nothing like Grey's Anatomy, the series. Never expected it to be either. 

Actually, I did not have much expectations to be honest. But I expected it to be tough and it is. Nonetheless, I am enjoying the journey.

How is your daily routine like?

I wake up at around 6.15 am to pray Fajr. Then I quickly get ready to go to ward/clinic before 8 am. There were times where I had to cover the beds, so had to be in the ward at 6 am - that too in Ramadan. I have ward rounds/bed side teachings/clinics from 8 am to 12 pm. 

I usually eat my lunch at University canteen and rest/study till 2 pm. At 2, we usually have task based learning and other large group sessions until 4 pm. After that it depends on you - whether to go to ward to follow up your patients or do on-call. If I do not do on-call, I come home around 5-6 pm, then study what I saw in the ward or prepare for the next day.

Tell us about a time when you were disappointed in a classmate/friend. How did you approach the situation?

To be frank, I am a passive aggressive person. That's my nature. Not a very good quality though. 

However, being the group leader, I have had many times when some of the group members not fulfilling their tasks. I talk or text them directly and give them a chance to do their work. I do not hesitate to bring it up to the lecturers if they don't change with multiple trials.

Why is Medicine rewarding?

I think it depends on your perspective and why you wanted to be a doctor in the first place. 

For me, it is rewarding when your patient smiles and thank you for being there for them when no one else was. It is rewarding when your patient delivers and show you their baby and smile because you see them at their most vulnerable of times. Their smiles are the most rewarding thing.

Name your favorite medical text book.  

There is no favorite really. But Kumar and Clark's Clinical Medicine has saved my life a few times.

What steps have you taken to acquaint yourself with what a doctor does?

I have tried, and I am still trying to be more attentive and listen to what the patient says. What a lot of doctors miss is listening to them. 

I try. Although I fail at times, practice will make perfect, hopefully.

What is the most effective way to study in Medical School?

Learn from your patients. As my lecturer says "your patients are the best teachers".

We take a history, do a physical examination and come to a diagnosis from what we learn from the patients. We then correlate the basic sciences and try to reason why the patient present in such a way. Next, we come up with an appropriate management for our patient. Most of the time the patients we see are very different from the text book cases. 

It also helps to develop the soft skills such as empathy, which is equally important in treatment.

Do you need High grades to become a decent doctor?

A good background of knowledge is an important part of becoming a doctor because you might suffer a lot initially. 

But then again, A grade or C, in the end we all have the Dr in front of our name.

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

Don't be a doctor because someone else asked you to be one. Or because your friends chose the course. Be a doctor only because you want to.

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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