All You Need to Become a Medical Doctor
To study medicine and surgery in the university is the dream of so many young pupils and students in various primary and secondary schools in Nigeria but most of them do not realize what it really entailed and what they need to possess to make such a dream a reality. This piece is to help address some of the issues and answer questions pertaining to the medicine and surgery.
What are the requirements to study medicine and surgery?
The most important requirement is that such a student must study science in the secondary schools. By studying science I mean science subjects such as Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Mathematics and English in senior secondary school. For medical field, Chemistry and Biology are the most important subjects and any student aiming to study medicine and surgery must be an outstanding student in these areas.
The next thing to consider are the subject combination for jamb and the cut of point needed for admission. Subject combination for jamb pertaining to medicine include Use of English, Physics, Chemistry and Biology. It is also advisable to view jamb portal for these combinations. You are also advised to view the portal of your chosen university to know the cut of point for medicine and surgery but most of the time, it ranges from 290 and above.
Since medicine and surgery is a professional course that deals directly with human lives, the duration for this course is usually six years in the Nigerian universities but strikes and other forces may cause this duration to increase. It is also important to note that those that are afraid of blood should not aspire to study this course.
Once Admitted, What Next?
To answer the above question, we will pay attention to the yearly progression of a medical student as follows:
Once admitted into the university, you undergo your introductive training as a basic medical student which deals with your secondary school topics to get you set for the task ahead. Medicine and surgery is a course for those who knows how to bury themselves in their books as it involves a whole lot of study and a great deal of stress so unserious students have no place here.
In year two, you will begin your journey as a medical student by handling courses like Physiology, Clinical anatomy and other important courses. This is where the true test of endurance, intelligence and seriousness is done. Some many students give up at this stage especially bin the second semester of their second year but if you pass this phase you are good to go for your next stage.
Year three marks a transition year to medical student due to an important examination that MUST be passed by them. Failure to pass this examination leads to direct withdrawal since there is no room for sorting due to the fact that we are dealing with human’s lives, so there is no room for mistakes. This examination also stand as the most important yet the most difficult test that a medical student must pass through. 80% to 90% of dropout from medicine and surgery department occur in this stage.
Those that successfully sail through the previous stage will spend most of their times in teaching hospitals and clinics for their remaining years in the university. They will be assessed based on what they do in these hospitals and not based on classroom lectures.
When this stage is completed, they can graduate with pride out of university but this does not make them medical doctors as they are not provided with license to practice but instead they are given a particular certificate. We will consider this certificate and the remaining huddles that must be surmounted to become a medical doctor.
