Dr. Aisha Idris Sima is a graduate of Medicine and Surgery of the Edo State University. The Kaduna State indigene, was recently inducted into the medical profession. She won 12 awards including overall best student of the institution. In this interview, she said despite her accident, which kept her away from school for two weeks, the desire to make her father proud and hand of Allah, propelled her to win the awards.

How did you emerge the overall best student in the 2023/2024 academic session?

I have always been passionate about my education and strived for academic excellence. I was determined to be among the best students in my set. Also, I have always tried my possible best to make my parents proud in all that I do because they have invested in me, and I felt the least I could do for them is to win the overall student in my department but ended up winning the overall best student award and 11 other awards in Anatomy; Human Physiology; Biochemistry; Pathology; Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Pediatric, Surgery, Internal Medicine and Community Medicine. I also got an award as the best female student and the overall best student in Medicine and Surgery.

What was the reading schedule and habit you developed during your study?

I am an audio-visual learner, I learn faster when I hear the things people say to me and I also learn fast when I see it myself, and that makes it a lot easier attending classes and clinical processes. I also watch YouTube videos recommended and others I stumbled upon while searching for recommended ones. I imbibe group reading with friends where we discuss topics already taught in class. We listen to each other?s explanations so that we can also learn from one another.

How was your social life in school?

I tried my best not to let my academic life overshadow my social life in school. So, I tried to attend the school events organised for students but others that will clash with my lectures, I tried to avoid them. But when I had an accident, I ran away from all social activities.

What were your challenges in school as you strive for the best?

The challenge that I had was the accident and the recovery process. I had to struggle to meet up with all the lectures that I had missed in the course of recuperating. My vehicle had a head-on collision with another vehicle on the Benin-Auchi Road. I sustained a cervical injury and fracture on my leg. I wrote to my department and school management requesting indefinite absence because I didn?t know when the injuries would heal. But I was away from school for two months and it took a toll on me because I had missed so many lectures and I had to struggle to recover from the long absence from school.

What would you say gave you an edge over other students?

I wouldn?t say this is what really gave me these awards, because my reading style was not peculiar to me but I think it was how I answered the questions during the examination. It was easier for me to raise an outline and with that outline, I could answer everything I needed. Not every student can use an outline while answering questions. In all, I could say hard work, dedication and God gave me the victory.

What comes to your mind after the accident?

After the accident, I thought it would put a pause on my academic journey, so, I had to double my efforts and increase my reading hours with a view to cover all the topics delivered in my absence. So, to make up for lost time, I kept watching and listening to Islamic lectures and sermons on being close to Allah and He can?t burden you with what you can?t handle, this became my daily mantra. It helped me overcome my fears.

Are you saying Islam played a major role in your educational success?

Yes. This is because during the accident, aside my family support, I have to really go back to Allah as nobody really understand what exactly I was going through except Allah. So, I cried my heart out to Him that I don?t want this accident to hinder my academic success and at the end, he heeds to my cry and I came out the best. So, I was really very close to God and he played a major role in my academic pursuit.

How would you describe your parent?s support while recuperating from your accident?

I was initially hospitalised for two weeks and they were with me in the hospital for that period. They never complained and after leaving the hospital, I had to go for physiotherapy and checkup. For my dad, despite his busy schedule, he will have to take me for treatment four days of the week. And one of my sisters, Fatima, was like my personal assistance, she helped me take my bath, cream and dress me up throughout this period of my recuperation. My school was also very supportive because after the accident, they changed my room from upstairs to downstairs to make things easy for me, and my room and course mates were also very supportive too. (Daily Trust)

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