MY CONFESSION; WHY I PICK INTEREST IN THE HEALTH SECTOR. One question i have always been bombarded with by medical professionals and non health personnel including my colleagues is why did you pick interest in reporting health and writing columns about them. I have always laughed it over, without giving a concrete answer, always asking them to wait for it when i eventually write my biography; that is if i write one at all. But the recent write up in reply to Osahon Enabulele led to more of such questions sent to my box, which i deem fit to reply. Now, i was like every Nigeria and still is, who had the notion that apart from nurses, other medical workers in the hospitals practice the same thing, until something happened. My uncle after giving birth to two healthy children gave birth to another child. As she grew, we began to notice abnormalities in her and alerted our family physician. This guy milked us of N30,000 monthly (this was several years ago), yet there was no improvement, but he kept assuring us that the girl of 4 years will improve. Then my aunt went to her friend place who had just returned from Canada, and you know ladies and their gist; she told her how frustrated she is caring for such a child who is a burden. After several talks, she introduced her to another doctor friend who schooled in India. I drove my aunt with our baby to the ladys hospital in Lagos and on her degree boldly posted in her office bore Dr ..... is hereby awarded a degree in Medical Rehabilitation.... When she began treatment for just four months, we saw improvement in our baby. That was when we knew that our physician has been scamming us all along, knowing fully well that he is not a specialist in such medical field. We wanted to arrest him, but my uncle refused and we sacked him from ever coming near our estate to treat anyone, lest we expose him. That shock prompted me to go into deep research, questioning our new doctor and other medical workers their various roles in the hospitals, their scope of study and all that relates to them. Then i picked keen interest in the medical sector. I remember vividly that even while in the university, most of us do not different between any medical student, but saw them as one. I laugh at my facebook physician friends who always comment that we failed medical school JAMB, and i wonder how arts relate to medical. My memory has not failed to recollect that the most courted students in school were those in the Theatre and Media Arts, Communication Arts and law students knowing that we control the student newspaper. Yes, we had the pen and chose who to rubbish and pamper. Election time became a ritual where whoever wanted to win must court the two beautiful bride, theatre and communication students, and we did deliver. We played with minds and brains. I recall that my very good friend from med/surg, ogonna who wanted to run for the SUG president made the two departments his, and our hostel his home, and while he may not be the best candidate, he was a better choice for those of us in the newsroom. Another colleague of his from the med lab dept, Arinze was not left out, as he wanted to become the SUG DOW and he still came around the departments, soliciting for our support and we didnt fail. Against our colleagues in the arts faculty and edu faculty, we projected the two medical students to victory. And yet someone believes that i write on them due to my inability to pass medicine or any medical course. I still do not forget that most of the face of the magazine came from the college of medicine, especially the pharmacy department. I became a source of campus news that i was dating this medical students to always have them in the news and been partial to them against my constituency, but no; i believed in merit and if they merit the campus magazine support, why wont i give them. My best friend, Chidi is from the med/surg dept, followed by Desmond from Med/lab, and then uche from med/surg, so why will i have to go against them? Till date, they are always the first to read my write up and have not failed to notice that i hate oppression of any person. They have not had serious cause to say what i wrote is not the truth. It is same reason i refuse to allow my then management pay us higher than poly graduates, arguing that we all went to the same higher institution,and even know more than some of us from the so called universities. I truly desire a harmonious working relationship, and had began to pen it down for publication, when my boss, Osahon Enabulele granted his provocative interview. I do know that the young ones want a rancour free hospital, and it is possible, if you will stop the old ones from making inflammatory comments. We are never going to stay alive forever and if what we advocate for does not come to bear, your children who will read any of the courses may just be paying for seeds they never sowed. That i love physician, physiotherapists, dentist, scientist, radiologist, pharmacists and optometrists is not in doubt, but i love nursing more. I grew up knowing them before any other medical profession; they were my first point of call as a kid. Anty Ngozi was the person i knew as my family physician and this love for them is so strong. If i was to chose a medical course, with all honesty; id chose nursing; it is my first love, others are my mistresses, unfortunately, i do not have one percent of passion for medical professions. To my mbbs friends, i owe you gratitude for the works you do, I do not despise the sacrifices you have made over the years. neither do i pretend not to know that your place in the health sector is un-quantifiable (its not in the dictionary though). True, you have stood the test of time and have faced the flames where there was no water, but you always found a way. But the true greatness of a man is the ability to let others chart their destinies and when they want to fall, you raise them up. Being equal is never a crime, rather it leads to a sense of fulfillment. When next i truly desire to write on this, your enormous virtue, trials and triumph will be established in my own little way. To all the medical workers that left our citadel of learning including the technologists, your contribution to our health system is truly appreciated. May the blesings be.
Posted on: Sun, 10 Nov 2013 20:26:02 +0000
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