{"id":333453,"date":"2017-07-02T14:07:28","date_gmt":"2017-07-02T14:07:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/citifmonline.com\/?p=333453"},"modified":"2017-07-02T14:07:28","modified_gmt":"2017-07-02T14:07:28","slug":"brilliant-nsmq-students-and-their-obsession-with-medical-school-article","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2017\/07\/brilliant-nsmq-students-and-their-obsession-with-medical-school-article\/","title":{"rendered":"Brilliant NSMQ students and their obsession with medical school [Article]"},"content":{"rendered":"
The National Science and Maths Quiz NSMQ has been able to capture the hearts of Ghanaians, in the way and manner only the Blackstars were able to, and I would like us to think and reflect on these issues suitable for this moment before the fire dies out.<\/p>\n
So having been on campus when the competitions begun, I was at one of the outdoor socialisation games held for the schools involved.<\/p>\n
I ended up making some new friends with some of them who hoped to enter the University of Ghana.<\/p>\n
To my dismay, most of the contestants I interacted with all wanted to pursue Medicine in UG.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
We are all familiar with stories of many brilliant chaps not getting into Medical School even with their excellent WASSCE results; or sometimes too, students having to move from KNUST to LEGON during their 2nd or 3rd year to pursue Medicine or vice versa. Two of my own brilliant course mates moved after 2years of nursing school to pursue Medicine in KNUST.<\/p>\n
I think Medicine is a great course, however, I believe if we want to be a prosperous nation, we need more and more of world class trained science related professionals such as Engineers of all kinds and other pure science and pure maths related professionals.<\/p>\n
Last year a member of Prempeh’s Brilla’ team got 8As but was rejected for UGMS and was given Biomedical engineering instead. He was devastated though his parent were hopeful that he will be successful with a reapplication this year, the public outrage meant a lot.<\/p>\n
So I did a little research on biomedical engineering to help my little ‘Brilla’ sweetheart.<\/p>\n
In fact in my opinion I found the course more fascinating than his dream medicine course, and foresaw a much more rewarding career life for him if he’s able to at least graduate with an upper in UG and got the chance to further abroad.<\/p>\n
With lots of persuasive talking and literal begging at a point, I decided to introduce him to a friend of mine who had done an MSc. in an engineering course at Cambridge University (to be his inspirational mentor) and also got him a level 400 friend of mine ending his biomedical engineering bachelors who was more exposed to the UG system in that respect.<\/p>\n
He was encouraged and begun to do his own investigations into the course and found out more details about an exciting career he could build out of biomedical engineering.<\/p>\n
He then decided voluntarily, to abandon the plans to reapply to Medical School.
\nInasmuch as his parents weren’t too happy over that , they strongly believe in the potential of their son to excel at whatever he decides to do.<\/p>\n
He accepted my challenge to him- to aim at graduating with a First Class or at least an Upper: although only 9 people have made it out of biomedical engineering with a 1st class since the inception of the course in 2004\/2005 academic year.<\/p>\n
So far he’s on track and I believe so much that he would make it.<\/p>\n
However, how about all the other brilliant chaps who will not have the encouraging encounter of support and of peaking of their interest in the subjects they have been “dumped in”?<\/p>\n
Those who will find themselves in the pure chemistry class, statistics class and the various engineering programs- as medical school “rejectees”?<\/p>\n
Should they keep reapplying to Medical School?<\/p>\n
Or wait and bait, and hope the new fashionable Graduate Entry Medical Program GEMP will console them?<\/p>\n
I think it’s about time we get SHS leavers to know about the wide variety of science course available in our universities; their prospective career paths in the various field, and have them choose these courses freely and willingly- rather than, PUSH them into those (far brilliant) courses as medical school “rejectees”.<\/p>\n
In fact I believe the other way round is more probable.<\/p>\n
In addition we must find a means of making these courses more student- friendly once they enrol on them.
\nI don’t know why, but it is very difficult for people (we all knew were very brilliant) to come out of these course with a first class or even Upper divisions.<\/p>\n