Methodius: Chasing a Dream in Medicine

Caption: Methodius in the lab Photo Courtesy

Medicine for Methodius was more of a childhood dream. The decision to pursue it later came during his teenage years, when he began noticing that people were losing lives at a high rate in his village. 

This was because the people believed in superstition, and could not be convinced otherwise that some diseases they suffer are not witchcraft, but can be treated in a hospital. During an annual general meeting in his high school, an in-depth interaction with an alumnus who is a medic made Methodius want to truly explore the field.

Currently in the second year of Pursuing Bachelors of Medicine and surgery (MBBS) at Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology, he shares his experience as quite challenging but also educative. 

“Medical school requires much of my time and attention. The first time I sat for an exam, it humbled me. I was over confident since the pass marks seemed too low. To attain the marks however require more effort, and a shift of focus might land one in trouble. With commitment, I managed.”

As he says, he discovered that an essential of handling the pressure of medical school is time management and self-coordination. 

“Most classes begin very early and end late. Without proper time management, you end up satisfying people’s general knowledge that medics are bookworms. Since I mastered the art of time management, I have extra hours where I can lock in with a good movie or a novel,” says Methodius.

Methodius shares that the course is very demanding, and he reveals that they began as a class of 60, but they are now at 49 after some dropped the course and some repeated. He shares that with medical school, you cannot proceed to the next year if you fail the current year. 

Methodius describes medicine as a career field that requires much practical work and research to understand how the field is changing. As a student, he discovered that there are always upcoming diseases, and pathogenic organisms that cause diseases mutate and keep evolving. 

Upon completion of his MBBS degree, Methodius would love to major in general surgery and orthopedic where he would like to explore a puzzle of how medical officers decide the kind of treatment to administer in different patients, two patients could be affected by the same disease, but how the final decision of treatment methods to be used is arrived at differs, and he would like to know why.

As he puts it, if all goes well, starting from the village he comes from where they believe in witchcraft as the root cause of most diseases, he will go back to educate them on the things causing diseases. To prevent loss of lives, he would also like to shed more light on chronic diseases like cancer, which people believe that once you have been diagnosed with it, it’s a death sentence.

UKR has been key in supporting Methodius’ education since he was in the last year of primary school till now when he is in university. He says that he has a peace of mind knowing his family is in a dignified environment thanks to UKR’s support.

Caption: Methodias with UKR staff at home Photo by Okoth John

“UKR’s focus on family reunification has instilled in me a deep sense of empathy and social responsibility. Through their support, I have the privilege of making a better life for myself through education and even uplift my family in future. I have gained understanding on the importance of giving back to society, which I look forward to once I am a qualified doctor,” he concludes.