The entire med school journey was a learning process.
1) #Resilience. Having lived almost all my life in an English speaking rural area, living in Yaoundé for the very first time, was a huge challenge both in the cultural and linguistic perspective.
Language barrier was such a huge problem initially. I remember being completely lost during the first lecture. I had to buy an English/French dictionary after that class. By being resilient, determined and hardworking, I managed to complete the 7-year training without ever failing a course.
2) I can’t really put this achievement ALL on myself. One very important thing I learnt in medschool was the importance of friends. I had a circle of very brilliant friends who motivated me to work even harder just by their ways of life generally and approach to studies in particular.
3) To complete seven longggg years of medschool, one had to make it enjoyable too. Some of the relaxation came as extracurricular activities; some still linked to medicine. Besides mentoring younger and even premed students, taking part in community work such as health campaigns during the long breaks really made studies worthwhile and was very rewarding and fulfilling.
Brice K. Njobe MD, MPH
Medical officer, Abong Mbang District hospital
Clinician on CANTAM3 project
ECFMG certified