Do you have questions on setting yourself apart to receive an offer into a Medical College of your choice?
This quarter we are excited to feature a Medical student -FATIMA SALEH-SHEHU with an insight on her journey to a Medical College .
Excitedly, we met our spotlight student for this month FATIMA SALEH-SHEHU four years ago at a school fair organized by Premiere Academy, Lugbe Abuja.
Fatima’s journey with our team at CLR Education Consulting was very exciting, thrilling and encouraging as she epitomizes a well-grounded student who was sure of her pursuit with every sense of commitment, discipline and responsibility.
My first impression of her was formed during a telephone conversation where Fatima in very concise terms fielded questions to our teams’ alumni lead Ada (an ex-student of CATS College Canterbury over her choice of joining an A Level Programme at the CATS College Canterbury, UK which we recommended to her amongst others.
Her journey before and after she joined the CATS College Canterbury was consistent with her previous work and very eventful.
Using some Medical school entry requirements as a base, we will review Fatima’s journey to gaining admission into a Medical School in the UK and Europe as a guide to all our intending Medical Students. Our review would be based on a general overview of admission requirements into a Medical school but we would be using as a base reference, the Academic Preparatory and Recommendation standards as set by Stanford University as follows:
“Desirable candidates for admissions are academically ready to succeed in our curriculum, have life experiences that will enrich our learning environment, and have personal qualities that will serve them, their colleagues and their patients well in their professional lives.” (http://med.stanford.edu/md-admissions/how-to-apply/academic-requirements.html
These requirements together with the right grades at the right level and in the right subjects form a summary of the standard of entry requirements for most reputable Medical Schools in the USA, UK, Ireland and Germany. We would review our spotlights’ journey to a Med School using these parameters. And relating to Fatima, we ask:
Was Fatima academically ready to gain admission and succeed in a medical school?
Fatima studied an A Level programme at the CATS College Canterbury, UK graduating in 2017 with an offer to various medical schools in the UK and Europe.
We are privileged to have all Fatima’s certification as we worked with her and can attest to her academic readiness. In her junior school Fatima recorded a distinction in all thirteen (13) subjects she took from JS1 to JS3. This earned her an academic scholarship which was the first of its kind at Premiere Academy School Abuja.
Fatima progressed to the senior school and still remained a first–class scholar. She finished the SS3 mock exams also with Eight distinctions in all subjects taken, thereby also gaining the award of the overall best graduating student for the 2012/2013 academic session at Premiere Academy School Abuja.
She also bagged other prestigious awards of most consistent female graduating student for the 2012/2013 academic session Pride award as the assistant head girl, award for excellence as the best all-round graduating female student and the best graduating overall student in Biology, Chemistry, Economics, Food and Nutrition for the 2012/2013 academic session at Premiere Academy Abuja.
Her academic prowess did not stop at Premiere Academy. Her IGCSE examination result proved her as still on course and consistent with also 3 A*’s and 3 A’s in all six subjects she took. Fatima”s A Level grades are also consistent with her success.
Did she have life experiences that will enrich a medical schools’ learning environment?
Prior to joining the CATS College Canterbury, Fatima continued to enrich her profile. She did a voluntary work at the National hospital Abuja where she gained insights into many aspects of medicine.
At the National Hospital Abuja, Nigeria, she tells us that the dedicated teamwork she observed at the Accidents & Emergencies, Paediatrics, Obstetrics & Gynaecology Wards has remained in her memory. In her exact words Fatima says” I marvelled at the swiftness with which doctors dealt with a particular emergency case of rectal prolapse in a 7-month old baby that required surgical procedure. I was especially amazed at how doctors averted a likely death when I observed the delivery of a premature baby of an ectopic pregnancy. While in the Paediatrics Ward, I improved my understanding and patience with children. In the Family Medicine Department, I shadowed a GP where I learnt the communication skills used in consultations. The doctor’s clarity of language and listening ear encourages the patient to open up, which leads to accurate diagnosis, correct prescription and thus speeds up recovery.”
AT CATS COLLEGE CANTERBURY
While at the CATS College Canterbury, Fatima completed a placement at Headway East Kent (head injury support) and Canterbury Hospital working with patients recovering from brain injuries and again she tells us vividly that: “I gained insight into the complexities of head trauma and the devastating impact on patients’ lives and their families.”
She is also trained and certified by St John Ambulance Training in Cheriton HQ, UK as a Trainee First Aide.
Fatima developed teamwork ethics and as a member of the Community Service Team and Students’ Council, she took part at the Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award and is currently undergoing the Silver challenge. This award is the world’s leading youth achievement award which helps youths push personal boundaries and gain new skills which enhances their CVs and university applications.
Hold your breath for more! Do you join me to ask where she finds the time for all these achievements? Did this impact on her A Level college work?
I am in a rightful place to answer you this because her college reports pass through my office as well as her final A Level grades and I can shout a loud NO, her A Level college work was not affected rather her academics were at the top percentile as she finds time through her resilience and discipline to build up herself in readiness for the medical school.
Fatima certainly has a lot experiences to take with her as she progressed to a medic school of her choice.
Through her subscription to The Medic Portal, she kept abreast of medical developments and easily educated herself through private learning of the link between Zika Virus and long-term memory damage. She also through self-study of an online course offered by the University of Birmingham learnt how Cancer Cells escape our immune system and enjoyed researching into Pancreatic Cancer.
She was given an opportunity by the CATS College Canterbury to present a paper on Pancreatic cancer at the Global Leadership Conference attended by eminent academicians from UK Universities. She was chosen by Professor Colin Goding of the University of Oxford as the outstanding student for a well-researched paper and effective time management. This experience Fatima tells us prompted her to undertake the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) research on Alzheimer’s Disease.
Does Fatima have personal qualities that will serve her colleagues and their patients well in their professional lives?’
Fatima loves carrying everyone along and continues to exhibit a very friendly and humane character. She understands that communication is key to the medical profession and the ability to deal with a variety of people and thus has mastered this skill.
She was given a Language Leadership Certificate for teaching her native Language Hausa to her classmates at CATS College Canterbury. She was the Student Ambassador for visiting Universities and Student Assistant to the Higher Education Director while at the CATS Canterbury College.
Fatima recording a documentary at the CATS College Canterbury as the voice representing the students at the college
You can start now to build your CV too!
For recommendations on how to progress your medical school dreams, contact our team of consultants for more details.
