If you are a student in medicine, you have probably felt dull. It is natural. We all have. With the College of Health Sciences holding to the reins, it is hard not to feel doubtful occasionally.
But David was different. He was the head boy of his set and collected the best-graduating student. His social life, academic life, and tendency to palpate lived in harmony until 200L reared its head.
Before Incourse
It was a day to the exam, and David couldn’t wrap his head around these complicated processes. It is painful to think about how the once ingenious student had it easy in secondary school. David always had first; the rumors were that my script was the teacher’s marking scheme. Fast forward to part 2, and he couldn’t understand thorax and abdomen.
When one tangos with an uninterested lover, one gets hurt. He was hurting. Always. He sees his results and can’t believe it. He met a new reality when he entered 200L medicine.
“52!”
Shock crept up his spine when he saw his upper and lower limb incourse result. He couldn’t process the score. If it was on his portal, he would have tried the fruitless effort of refreshing. However, right before him was a score he couldn’t refresh. David had thought he did well. He read all he could and yet 52. He had never seen less than an 80 since he remembered seeing my results—first position winner from JSS1 to SS3. But yet, right before him was the comical score of 52.
His head got filled with doubts. I used to be smart, he would mutter to himself. “What happened?” The topics of the thorax and abdomen had become David’s new nemesis, and MB was looming in the corner. The intricate structures and ambiguous names overwhelmed him. What was mediastinum or lingula—ancient gods of famine and suffering? The pressure was mounting, and he barely experienced diastasis with how fast his heartbeat.
After the incourse
The T and A exams were intricate, but David knew the questions. He knew where the cardiac notch was, and all Dr. Odukoya’s materials were at the back of his head. The exam was the first exam that made David smile. It was a wide grin as he sent the 200 questions to an abyss of true or false answers. But his hope wasn’t high. He had learned the hard way.
Man proposes, but College disposes.
He left the hall to prepare for his MB. It was in 18 days. He had to read. When the next set of results arrived, David’s heart raced with anticipation. This time, however, there was a glimmer of hope in his eyes. As he scanned the paper, his heart swelled with pride and relief. The grade was significantly higher than before—a testament to his hard work and determination.
“79!”
David laughed from his stomach, and his nose flared. He could finally laugh. He had passed. 79!—the top of the class.
This was definitely the ‘happily ever after’. His journey through the past months had taught him invaluable lessons.
He learned that success was not always linear and setbacks did not indicate failure. Through his struggles, he discovered resilience and the true meaning of perseverance.
He was smart…no, he is smart. David won’t let medicine take that from him. He moved from where he stood towards his Awo cafe, ready to pull an all-nighter.
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