03/01/2026
🍓WHAT I WISH I KNEW BEFORE ENTERING MEDICAL SCHOOL
They told me to forget everything I learned in secondary school. Nobody told me I’d forget my own name by 400L. 😀
If I had known then what my 4am-caffeine-shaky-hands know now, maybe my liver wouldn’t hate me so much.
See, medical school in Nigeria is not just a course; it is a spiritual journey, a marathon where they keep moving the finish line. 😭
And for my paramedical comrades—the Pharmacists, Physios, Nurses, Med Lab scientists—you people are running the same damn marathon, just in different lanes with different obstacles.
So, here’s the gist, from the other side of my first set of call-ups:
🔴 They Sell “Brilliance,” But The Prize is “Resilience.”
You entered with all your A’s, thinking sharp brain go carry you. Then you hit Biochemistry or Anatomy in year two and your brain will short-circuit.
The game is not about being the smartest in the room; it’s about being the last one standing in the room after 10 consecutive hours of studying.
It’s about rewriting that note for the 4th time when your eyes hurt. Your intelligence will get you in, but your stubbornness will get you through.
🔴 Your Body is Your First Patient. And You Are Neglecting It.
You will live on Indomie, cheap coffee, and panic. You will sleep 3 hours and call it a “nap.” 😂
You will carry tension like extra uniform. Then one day, your body will present you with its own case: peptic ulcer disease, anxiety, burnout.
Start treating yourself now. Drink water oh.
That 30-minute walk or that 6-hour sleep is not lost time; it’s an investment in your survival.
🔴 The System is a “Mugun” (W!cked) Teacher.
You will have lectures you don’t understand, confusing materials, and demoralizing moments. The key is to find your own syllabus.
Your seniors, past questions, online resources (Osmosis, Ninja Nerd, etc.) are your lifeline.
Don’t wait for the system to teach you; use the system to know what to teach yourself. Be your own doctor—diagnose your knowledge gaps and prescribe your own study plan.
🔴 Your Friends are Your Bl©©d Bank.
Not literally.
But you'll need them for notes, for explanations, for reminders. But more than that, you need them for sanity.
The only people who understand why you’re crying over a failed practical/test or celebrating a correct diagnosis are the ones in the trenches with you.
Find your tribe. Hold them tight. Study together, suffer together, shine together.
🔴 Medicine is a Language. Start Speaking it Early.
Don’t just memorize that a disease presents with “fever, headache, and myalgia.” SEE IT!!
In the clinic, during posting, ask questions. That patient in A&E is a walking, talking (sometimes groaning) textbook.
The earlier you connect the dots between the thick textbook and the thin, frail woman in bed 3, the sooner this whole thing starts to make profound, heartbreaking, beautiful sense.
🔴 You Are More Than This Degree.
It will consume you if you let it.
You were a person before—with hobbies, passions, a life. Fight to keep a piece of that person. Draw. Write. Play games. Watch movies.
Do something that doesn’t involve a stethoscope. It’s not a distraction; it’s what keeps you human in a field that demands superhuman effort.
To my fellow future doctors, lab scientists, nurses, physios—we dey the same storm, different boats. But the waves are equally strong.
If you read this and you relate or you tremble for your future, oya, drop a “AMEN” for your own resilience in the comments.
SHARE this with your own squad—from Pre-clinical to Clinical, from Pharmacy to Nursing. Let’s remind each other we are not crazy; we are just being forged.
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