Thursday, 11 June 2015

The medical student not limited by medicine

I went through Forbes list sometimes and I can't remember seeing a medical doctor or practitioner at least in the top 100 and then I don't know any medical doctor who has created 5000 jobs by being an entrepreneur. Am a curious person who likes to project into the future and sincerely as successful as many of my lecturers are I honestly think something is missing.
I remember sitting in Medical Psychology class and my lecturer making it clear to me that being a doctor might not make you rich but will make you comfortable. I find this depressing that doctors and health care practitioners are to busy to the extent that they generally have no entrepreneural goal. This is so serious that we have few medical practioners who are political giants whose political views are widely revered by the country.
Yes too much work takes our time even from studentship but I believe that our intelligence cannot only save lives but save other aspects of the country! We should not dream of internship, residency and consultancy salaries but hope that it could be a capital to start something! It's high time we start giving useful political advices and taking up political positions to change things! You don't have to wait till you are named Minister of Health or the Surgeon general of the fedration if this postion gets created eventually.
We can help the government by creating Jobs through various investments no matter how small we start,  we should not dream of comfortability when there could be satisfaction.
Nigerian medics it's time.
Written for COMPSSA   magazine by Idowu Joshua Tolulope
300 Level dental student CMUL, UNILAG.

Monday, 9 March 2015

The Laurels Outreach

Hello Friends! Its being a while! Medical school is an extremely demanding institution, Am really sorry about that.

Am introducing to you one of my projets called the Laurels outreach. I hope to Start in may. Our Outreach will be focused on helping people reach their potentials by motivating them and of course empowering them! We hope to start with public school students in April/ may.

We need a team of volunteers that can help us anywhere in the world! Wherever you are in the world you can help us by reaching out to people in your community and sending us pictures. You could also support us financially if you are convinced about our project.

Join the Laurels team today.
Contact us - victoryunexplainable@gmail.com

Tuesday, 21 October 2014

The Medical Triangle



In the medical world your basic work is service to humanity. This primary assignment makes the job more difficult and rigorous because one of the most difficult thing to do is to satisfy humans. It is so difficult that even the economists sees this as a problem because human wants are unlimited.

Expectations from medical Practioners have increased so drastically over the years, patients don't just want to see their doctors because they are seek but they want more "not really necessary services" such as Breast Implants, Buttocks Implants Face lifts and so on! This makes medical service providers faced with many challenges! Now its not right for big incisions to be made during surgeries! Humans Just want it right! They want everything to be perfect but the question is what motivates the doctors?, what makes them want to develop?

Asides Incentives which are not even enough, I think medical Practioners should be inspired by a desire to change things and be motivated by seeing this work out! As  a dentist for example the fact that the you can successfully reconstruct the cleft lip of your patient should motivate you, It should "Ginger you", As a Pediatric surgeon for example, the fact that a baby born with a heart condition you successfully took care of should spur you to do more! As a nurse the fact that you gave great assistance in the delivery of a baby should encourage you! You just helped a woman in pain! You just helped in making someone a father!, As a physiotherapist the fact that you assisted in helping someone get his balance back should Inspire you to do more! This is the First Part of the triangle--- Your Patients , The reason why you are practicing, In fact the basis of your Practice. I have seen how harshly patients are treated in hospitals, particularly public hospitals! Some Nurses have been so bad to the extent that they have made people think all nurses are wicked, Some doctors just have an attitude of "I don't care" They want to attend to you just quickly and run away.

This should change, Our Patients are fundamental to our practice and they constitute an important part in this triangle.

The second part of the triangle is made up of the health practioners themselves. Your skill, your contribution to your personal development, the desire to get better, effective collaboration! This is just going to move the medical world forward.

The third part which Is the most important is God, see yourself accountable to God and you will be spurred to make a useful Impact. You will be motivated and compelled to do jus the right thing which is beneficial to mankind.

I once heard my dad say someone died during surgery because he was supposed to be given a drug at a particular interval and the people or person  in charge forgot. Who knows how many of these cases have happened?  The truth is If the parts  of this triangle and properly joined together the world will be a better place.

Incentives are wonderful but that should not be our drive! Never Forget the Triangle!

Joshua Idowu. 



Saturday, 3 May 2014

Bring Back Our Girls!



On a bright morning, Innocent female students went to their school at Chibok, Girls with big dreams and prospects but suddenely they were attacked, kidnapped and lost.. These girls could eventually become the Okonjo-Iweala and Dora Akinyuli of tomorrow. They are potential tools for the development of this Nation. Nigeria's Future must not be destroyed, these great prospects must not end, as a nation we say No to terrorism, we say No to political Instability and Insecurity.


The Government and security agents must arise and bring back our girls, bring back our prospects, bring back our future leaders!


We beseech God to step into this situation. Nigeria's future must not die!



Bring back our girlse! Bring back our girls! Bringback our girls!

Monday, 24 March 2014

SEEKERS EPISODE 6: LIES AND SECRETS.


 
 LIES AND SECRETS.

She wrote down some things and closed the notebook.

“Alright, go over it one more time.” Dr Harding said to her.

Areya shifted in her seat and popped her knuckles. They had referred her to the grey haired lady because Dr Charles wasn’t available. “It was similar to the previous dreams I’ve been having consistently for a while. In those ones, I found myself trapped in a car at the bottom of the river and I tried to get out because I was drowning fast, then just when I feel like I’m about to die, I hear my name and I wake up.”

“But this time, there was more.” The doctor said more like a statement than a question. She stirred her tea continuously with a small tea spoon.

“Yes, I saw someone, a lady. She had red hair and she pried the door and helped me out. I don’t know what happened after that.”

“Do you recognize this lady?”

“No, I don’t think I’ve seen her before.” She squinted trying to remember any details she might have forgotten.

“What of her voice? Was it familiar? Did she give any name?” Dr Harding picked up the spoon and stirred the tea again.

“No, nothing at all” Reya wondered if she was ever going to drink the tea.

“Well In that case, I think you need to stop thinking about the accident and just let things happen. It’s possible that you are getting fragments of what happened that day and it’s construing as a dream. It’s normal. Just take your drugs and have an open mind.”

Reya nodded. The old lady was right. There was really nothing to worry abo ut. She asked the doctor some more questions, thanked her and took her leave feeling much better.

******************************************************************************

“Hello Demi…yes I got your message, Sita would be coming back tomorrow so I would have to use her own to back it up… definitely, thanks…alright, bye.”

“Was that Demi?” Cataleya asked, she was cleaning the sofa with a spray and wash cloth. Reya sat on the mini-couch and punched the remote. They were the only 2 at home.

“Yeah, she wanted to know how soon I could get the export sales. My laptop is backed down so I have to wait for Sita.”

“Use mine.” She offered generously..

“The setup is on Sita’s laptop. I don’t have the flash drive where the setup is even if I wanted to install it on yours. Thanks though.” Reya replied with a brief smile.

Things had eased up between them the past couple of days but Reya still had some grudges. She was however itching to bring up the convo they had the other day but now didn’t seem like the right time. It was a breezy Friday evening and she had other reasons to be nervous. Damon was coming over to spend the weekend with them. Sita had suggested it the previous week. She felt she owed it to her that they get along-an idea which Reya found rather extraneous, considering the circumstances.

As she watched Cataleya put on her tennis shoe, she couldn’t help but replay their conversation.

“What do you mean don’t go back there?” She had asked the therapist that day.

“Areya, have you ever tried to understand what is happening to you from different perspectives?”

“y-yeah I’ve tried but I can’t get any meaning out of it. Dr Charles has been the one helping me and for you to tell me not to go back to him is like taking the last piece of faith I’ve been holding to.”

“Do you trust me?”

“No”

“Okay, when you do…let me know.” She had replied and walked out of the room.

Reya however had gone to see Dr Charles, but as luck would have it, she was referred to Dr Harding. She grinned slightly; the grey haired woman didn’t drink the tea after all.

…………………………………………………………………………………………….

He parked the car and removed his keys. He dropped them in the compartment, unlocked the boot from inside and opened the door. It was a terrible idea-spending the weekend at the house and to say he didn’t look forward to it was an understatement. Sita had said it was healthy for their relationship if everyone was on good terms and Reya deserved to know what she missed. Yeah, Reya. Damon sighed. He hadn’t still gotten over her reaction. There was something about her that he couldn’t quite place a hand on. Sita was returning back from her trip that evening which meant he was going to have to endure for the next 5 hours, he checked his watch. Just 2 days…just 2 days.  He removed the  suitcase from the trunk and closed it shut. Someone was coming out of the house and he figured it was Cataleya.

“Hey!” she jogged over to meet him and embraced him. “You look trim, and buff.” She complimented.

“It’s good to see you, how is work?” He gave her the smaller bag.

“Great, you? How is the new place?”

“Amazing.” He smiled. “Who is home?” He asked as they were about to enter the apartment.

“Just Areya and I” she replied with a knowing look and he sighed deeply.

Reya was at the backyard when she heard voices. Quickly, she went back into the house.

“Areya! Damon is here.” Cataleya called out. Damon took his luggage to the guest room close to Sita’s room. Areya and Cataleya were occupying the other 2 guest rooms in the house so he was left with that one.

“Hey” A voice said behind him, he turned around and met her eyes. She was looking more relaxed than before and he observed she had re fixed her nails to a purple color.

‘Hi Reya, good to see you again.” They walked back into the large living room. “You look more relaxed than before. I’m guessing you are feeling better.”

“Yeah, thanks” She smiled. He was trying hard to be less awkward, but she knew she owed him an apology. “Damon, about the other day…” She paused gathering her thoughts together. “I acted out of ignorance, it was a huge surprise for me and I didn’t expect to hear it from you first but I get it now. Sita and I talked about it and I’m happy for you guys. She  is my best friend and she has done so much for me so I’m sorry for what happened.” She faced him. “I really am”

He seemed surprised; he was smiling at her with admiring eyes. “Thank you, although we are the ones who owe you an apology but thank you… Hug?”

She chuckled nervously and embraced him trying hard to control her heart beat that was thumping madly in her chest. That was when everything went wrong.

As soon as his arms touched her, she felt power flow out of him and into her body. She tried to steady her heartbeat but it wasn’t her heartbeat, it was something else. She was feeling dizzy and it seemed like she was being pulled out of one scene into another. The living room tilted and the walls spiraled. One minute she was facing the portrait that hung on Sita’s living room wall and the next minute she saw herself in a diner. She was sitting on a chair in what looked like a small café.  There was a waitress standing next to her, smacking her lips in a very annoying way. Reya found herself staring at the lady.

“Can I have your order sir?” she asked with a flirtatious smile.

Reya edged a brow, and felt the need to wipe her face. She reached into her pockets hoping to find her face towel when she suddenly realized why the waiter had referred to her as a male. As a matter of fact, she was a man. She was dressed in suits and the rest of her body had nothing feminine about it. Alarmed she sprang up immediately and staggered to the only mirror in the café. The waitress followed her. Reya nearly fainted when she saw her reflection in the mirror. She was not just a man; she was Damon…Damon Scott. Why was she him? Was this her dream or his? Was it possible to swap bodies?

“Damon?” A voice said and she spun round to see who had spoken.  Reya froze for almost 10 seconds. The lady who had spoken looked like her-actually, the lady looked just like she did some years back. Reya was confused. She was in Damon’s body and she was talking to a version of herself. It was a very weird feeling. She found herself conversing with the lady. They knew each other. They met at a conference some time ago and they exchanged numbers. It  was when she typed in her number into the lady’s phone that she noticed the date, it was November 2006!

“Areya! Areya!” Cataleya was tapping her continuously. She opened her eyes slowly and saw cataleya and Damon bent over her, looking rather frantic. She was on the sofa and she propped herself up.

“What happened?” she managed to whisper.

“You blacked out. Are you okay?” Damon asked.

“Yeah…yeah I’m fine.” She replied staring into his eyes. Then she realized, she was actually not okay. What in the world just happened?

******************************************************************************

 

 

SATURDAY EVENING

“You ready?” Cataleya asked her. It was her third outing since the accident and she was grateful for a change in environment. Areya applied some perfume and picked up her bag.

“Yeah, let’s go”

“Do you feel better?” Leya asked. “You seem a little fuzzy, did you have another blackout?”

“No, I’m okay.”

Reya knew she wasn’t okay. There was nothing okay about blacking out and having a memory or vision of you in someone else’s body. She wanted to tell somebody but she didn’t know who she could trust. Sita just got back from a trip, she didn’t want to bother her plus Damon would be with her most of the time and he was the last person she would want to know about the dream. But how was it possible? She had felt a rush of power. Could it be a side effect from the drugs? She didn’t even know if Dr Charles would have an answer to this and didn’t Cataleya tell her not to go back to him? She didn’t know what to do.

The wind blew across the beach and Reya buried her feet deeper into the sand. She was sitting on a deck chair in a relaxed position. Cataleya was next to her in a similar chair. Sita and Damon were playing near the water. Sita had suggested they come to the beach for a picnic. She just wanted a chance to come out and feel normal.

“You know, “ Leya said breaking into her thoughts. “I’ve known Sita for a long time and I’ve never seen her as the type to commit to a relationship, but this…with Damon. It’s surprising, very hard to believe.” She glanced at Reya, the latter didn’t seem to be paying much attention.

“Areya?”

“Yeah?” she took off her shades, “I don’t know what to say, right now. My head is a mess.”

“What?” she laughed in amusement. “Why?”

“I’m not sure I should tell you.”

“Excuse me miss.” A man said interrupting the conversation. He was holding a note pad and a pen.

“Can we help you?” Cataleya inquired with a edge in her tone. She knew he was a reporter judging from his composure.

“I just want to ask you a few questions about the accident.”

“Why?” Reya asked

“I’m a reporter, I’ve been looking into the case and I happen to take particular interest in the circumstances surrounding it.

Reya sat up. “Go on”

“The second person in the car, how come nobody talks about him/her?”

What second person

He seemed to read her mind. “The night of the accident.  Your car.”

“Okay you need to leave now.” Cataleya was furious. “Get out”

“No, wait!” Reya called after him but he was gone. She glared at Cataleya “What is your problem?”

“He is a reporter, this is what they do. They capitalize on every situation just for media and publicity. We told them no press.”

Sita and Damon returned just in time to notice the situation.

“Who was that?” Sita asked taking out bottled water from the cooler they had brought along. Damon washed off the sand on his legs.

Neither of the women responded.

“Areya, what did the guy want?”

“Was there someone in the car with me that night? The night of my accident.”

The question came as a total shock to Sita and she stuttered. “I-I d-d-o-n’t know, I arrived at the scene late. You were being taken into the ambulance. I couldn’t have known.”

“I think if there was someone else, we would have been informed.” Damon said. He was also surprised.

“What about the officer? The one who resuscitated me?”

“Officer Brady” Cataleya said.

“He is on leave…so I heard.” Sita said.

“Well, I’m going to find him; someone has to have an explanation for all these crap.” Reya got up from her chair and walked away. The others watched her in silence.

Cataleya bit her lip. She had to act fast.

 AUTHOR: ABBY

 image source:expressionex.com