I always strive to be better – UniAbuja best medical student

Dr Dahiru Adamu Bara is the best all round MBBS graduate of the University of Abuja. In this interview he spoke on the long awaited time for the course to be accredited and the challenges in pursuing it. Excerpts:   How does it feel achieving the best all round MBBS graduate? It feels great and […]

Dr Dahiru Adamu Bara is the best all round MBBS graduate of the University of Abuja. In this interview he spoke on the long awaited time for the course to be accredited and the challenges in pursuing it. Excerpts:

 

How does it feel achieving the best all round MBBS graduate?

It feels great and it’s humbling at the same time because I’m aware that it wasn’t entirely my effort but the grace of God.

How did you attain such result?

That’s a difficult question because I don’t really have a formula; I didn’t plan it. However, I always try to put my best effort in everything I do, academics and otherwise. I have been told reading a topic before and immediately after a lecture helps with understanding and recall, and that is true. It’s just difficult to maintain, so I try that as often as possible. But perhaps the most important factor to achieving anything is to remember that it is Allah who grants it to whom he wishes, not by one’s knowledge or wit. 

I’m always surprised whenever I get high scores in exams because I know so many of my classmates who know better than me. The only logical conclusion I always come to is that Allah wanted me to pass very well. So the bottomline is, work hard and have faith.

What was it like graduating years back and just being inducted now?

I did not graduate 12 years ago, that’s when I was admitted to study Medicine and Surgery in the university. I only graduated this November and inducted in to the medical profession 2nd of December. 

What have you been doing in the last few years while you waited for this day?

I’ve been in school working towards this day. It wasn’t a smooth ride. Between January 2006 and 2008 we completed the pre-clinical curriculum, but could not sit for the first professional exam due to lack of accreditation. After waiting for two tumultuous years we were given the option of doing a B.Sc programme in any of the basic medical sciences: anatomy, physiology or biochemistry. 

I choose physiology. We completed that in 2012 after two academic sessions. I finished with a First Class. Then followed another year of redundancy, I’m not sure what I was doing during that period. Those were difficult times. We eventually got interim accreditation to write the first professional exam in March 2013. And the rest of the story is history now. We thank Allah for everything. 

Tell us about competitions you took part in and awards if any your had.

I’m generally not a competitive person; I suppose I only compete with myself, always striving to be better. Somehow I managed to win some awards, such as the Best Student in Medical Chemistry awarded during the World Biochemistry Day 2007; Best Essay on ‘How to Maintain an Ideal Body Weight 10 Years After Graduation’ awarded at the 2013 World Hypertension Day; First Class B. Sc in Human Physiology, three distinctions in Biochemistry, Physiology and Surgery, and Best Graduating Student of the Pioneer Set….nothing spectacular really. 

What challenged you the most in the course of your study?

I think that would be the extra-large volume of work that every medical student has to read and the fact that I would have to read many times to consolidate.

What is your study pattern as a student?

Read, recall, revise, and discuss – in that order. One of my teachers once said if you can’t reproduce what you have read then you don’t know it.

What did you do differently to make you attain this height?

I have no idea really, I don’t think it’s something I did. Allah knows best.

What is your social life like as a student?

I enjoy the company of good friends whenever time permits. I socialise responsibly as much as possible, watch movies, listen to music, and I read a lot of non-academic books.

What advice do you have for students who find it hard to cope with their studies?

They should keep trying and never give up. Repetition brings clarity and aids memory. So essentially it’s hard work, faith, and humility.