The Academic Committees of the MBBS and BDS 2k22 classes liaised to organize SYNAPSING: EFFECTIVELY CROSSING THE BRIDGE, a 3-day event that held from 19th to 21st June 2022. According to the Head of the Academic Committee of the MBBS 2k22 class, Victor Femi-Lawal, the class decided to hold this event to “help us garner valuable information about the MB from those who’ve done it before us, unravel strategies for acing specific subjects in the MB, help dispel myths and inaccuracies about the MB and to reveal mistakes to avoid, and to encourage everyone to take advantage of the strike period to start/continue studies so we’re not too rusty by the time we resume.”
“We looked at those who consistently scored high in specific subjects, as their strategies would be valuable for long-term study and the ability to impress the lecturers. Consistency is key in successfully preparing for the MB, so that played a critical factor. We’re currently in a similar situation to what they experienced–ASUU has been on strike for over 100 days, so it can be quite discouraging–but they were able to keep focus. We believe that it’s important to learn how they were able to stay focused during such a period.
Also, it’s quite true that we’re all at different stages in our preparations. Some of us have hardly studied since the strike began, and some have had low scores on a few tests, so we decided to include at least one speaker whose experience was rather similar to that. We believed that this would serve as encouragement to such people-and everyone, in fact-that, whatever their previous scores or performances are, it’s certainly possible to right their wrongs and successfully scale the exam.“, Femi-Lawal said on the criteria used to pick the 2K21 speakers invited to speak at the event.
Physiology held on the first day – day 1. The speakers were Tobi Olajide, Isaac Babawale, and Opeyemika Aremu, all of the MBBS 2k21 class. It was anchored by Prosper Igbozurike. It started with the class representative of the MBBS class, Chukwuebuka Asogwa, giving a welcome address, thanking the hosts and invited speakers, and encouraging attendees to take the program very seriously, listen attentively, and learn from the seniors. The seniors commended the initiative for organizing the program and sympathized with the class concerning the strike. They talked about their preclinical journey, preparation for MB, how the MB itself was, and mistakes they made and would like the 2k22 class to avoid. It was a long session but packed with a lot of valuable information.
The first day of synapsing was a wakeup call for me. It’s time to put my house in order. It really helped me estimate the amount of work and the due diligence I needed to put into my preparation. It was really an eye-opener for me.
Olamide Odusola
Day 2 was dedicated to Anatomy and the speakers were Ata Olalekan of the 2k21 BDS class and Obiekwe Franklin Ekene of the 2k21 MBBS class. It was anchored by Patrick Okelue. They mentioned that even though anatomy was broad, every part of it requires attention. Important pieces of advice were given on how to understand lecturers, and go about anatomy essay writing and steeple chase in order to avoid clinical failure. Anatomy may be bulky, but having a strategy that works will helps greatly.
Day 2 was very informative. I enjoyed hearing the first-hand experiences of the speakers. The audio was great and the moderators kept on time. It was a nice experience.
Charles Ofoma
Biochemistry held on the last day, and the speakers were Sophia Okeke and Joshua John Inioluwa. The programme was anchored by Oluwatimilehin Oladapo. Inioluwa made sure to allay fears about Biochemistry and asked attendees to have a different mentality towards it because they would come to see just how important and needed it is. He said that although biochemistry may require a lot, clinical school will require much more, so seeing biochemistry as a stress should be stopped. Emphasis was laid on reading to understand and reading everything so that one can attempt any question. Important pieces of advice on how to write essays were also given. Attendees were highly encouraged to take PSM seriously. The 3-Day Synapsing event was brought to an end by one of the majority leaders of the BDS class, Babawande Sanni, who encouraged that all that had been learnt in the past few days should be put into good use, and he also wished class members success in their exams.
Day 3 was very insightful. Although I didn’t have many questions, I learned a lot from the questions asked.The speakers were realistic, especially when they talked about how to learn pathways. In all, the program really woke me up because…
Olajire Ajegbemika
For those who, for one reason or another, were unable to attend the event, and those who would just like to revisit the event, recordings of the event will be made available.
The universe rewards hard work, so make sure you do your part.
Joshua John Inioluwa
Omoyemen Aisuodionoe-Shadrach
