In the wake of the highlight of the Ibadan Medical School 2023 calendar –otherwise termed the 61st annual health week –the press decided to gather feedback from the members of the association as regards their experiences and ratings of this year’s activities. From the rogbodiyan at the film house JW4 screening to the sports pitch palavas, an angry quiz master walking out on his quiz due to extreme tardiness and a dinner that started closer to midnight than dinner time, let’s see what UIMSAites have to say about the week!
Oluchukwu, 2k25: The UIMSA’s 61st health week was an interesting and enlightening program. During the symposium, I learnt some practical measures of improving the health sector. Listening to doctors working in the field of medicine was also inspiring.
The Community Health Awareness Program (CHAP) broadened my knowledge and experience in public health and the medical field.
The dinner was fun. I loved the pageantry, especially the cultural dance performed by the contestants and the fire benders.
I was impressed with the organisation of the event. I can say that the health week planning committee did a great job and I look forward to attending the next UIMSA health week.
Rating: 8/10
Moses, 2k25: The 61st health week generally was a satisfying one, I had a great time tbh. I couldn’t make it to the symposium, however, the comments I got from my friends was that it was top-notch.
The CHAP was so insightful and filled with awesome moments; I loved the way it was organized and the way we got to work together. I was really glad I went for the CHAP because I got to learn how to do new things, like check a person’s blood glucose/sugar, blood pressure, etc. Generally, it was top-notch.
Sports, I’m a sportsman but I didn’t get to participate much in sports cos we were on break when the preliminaries started, and the majority of my class was at home so we missed out on most of the events. The ones we could watch were nice and carried out well. However, we could do better to improve the games and I look forward to that.
The movie night was an excellent idea and we had a great time, watching those movies at such discounts was amazing. I’d advise that next time, it should be a single movie and at different times so what happened that day won’t happen again (majority of us turned up for the second movie and there was no space for some people to watch).
The dinner was excellent. The decor, activities, food, etc. were top-notch to me. Thank you.
Rating: 10/10
David, 2k24: I attended quiz preliminaries and finals, participated in football and had a presence at the movie night.
It was a great feel taking a ride with the class quiz team to the final stage cheering them on. Though, it didn’t end perfectly, there’s that solace as the only preclinical side in the final.
It’s also a mixed feeling with football. My class team had a good start, crashed out in a tough contest with 2k19 team at the semifinal but it was quite relieving that no class went home with football medals. Haha. I enjoyed all the banters that went with each moment especially Oka to Excelsiors, a ri n kan kan.
For the movie night, amusing to see how John Wick went through everything pulling off those immortal stunts but the WWE notable warning, “don’t try this at home”, kept ringing in my head.
The major highlight for the health week was how 2k19 class stole the show at almost all the angles. It wasn’t seen coming. I’m glad they gave it a great celebration having been written off in most instances.
It was great on the average. I heard great comments around the dinner night. However, I hope that recording 100 percent success of activities becomes order of the day in UIMSA. How the football final for one not coming to fruition not that pleasing or deserving of a prestigious association like us.
Rating: 7/10
Olajire, 2k23: I liked the movie night most especially because I watched Shazam so I didn’t get to hustle with the John Wick guys, lol. I also liked the pageantry. Although, I feel it would have been better as a separate event instead of being merged with the dinner. I hope it becomes a yearly thing.
I didn’t like that there was no variety night. I liked the dinner theme. Everyone looked so lovely. The venue was also really posh. I wish they could have given us something light during the symposium instead of waiting till the end.
In all, the executives and committee members did a really good job. I’m happy I got to attend more events this year. I made lovely memories.
Rating: 8/10
Moyin, 2k23: I attended the symposium, CHAP, quiz, and the movie night. For me, the symposium was the best because I picked a substantial level of information and got a lot of insights for my medical career. It was so inspiring, enlightening and educating. Next in line is the movie night. It was a perfect way of relaxing after my MB 1 exam because surprisingly I hadn’t done so and it was really fun.
I don’t really know which one to rate better between the quiz and CHAP because the quiz didn’t end well for my class but I believe we are coming stronger next time. The CHAP was also great and I learnt how to carry out some tests too.
What I disliked about the health week is the fact that I had to go home around some minutes after 11pm after the movie night. Well, I feel I should have gone earlier on my own but I was glued to my chair. I feel if we had started on time as planned, it wouldn’t have turned out that way. Also, the dinner night was expensive and I think that was what made some people including me not to show up.
Lastly, I believe the bonfire should be scrapped because I don’t really see the importance. All the events organized by UIMSA should be welcoming. For me the bonfire wasn’t because I hear a lot news about it that prevents me for coming. I believe the sport week, quiz, movie night and dinner night is enough fun for us.
The health week for me is really a great one and it added to my knowledge and opened room for improvement as well as helping me relax after my MB. Thanks for the privilege.
Rating: 9/10
Eseosa, 2k21: Thank you for the question. I like the fact that each class had a name. I think it added more to the publicity of the competition. I also liked the fact that for the football the semifinals and finals had an external referee and other officials like linesmen. I think it really helped to reduce conflict because there always used to be complaints of bias when we used internal officials. Even though I know it’s kind of expensive to get external referees, I saw the advantage it had as the referee was less likely to be biased.
I, however, was not happy with the way it was rushed, though I understand that it was due to several factors like the classes having exams, the sports secretary himself having exams, the strike and also the election especially which caused us to shift some things. But I like the fact that we still found a way of making sure that almost every activity planned held. I’m really happy about that.
Rating: 8/10
Amine, 2k19: The 61st UIMSA Health Week would go down as a memorable one for me. It came with a lot of suspense, celebration and even controversy.
In the area of sports where I participated in, I was able to learn that organization and hardwork truly pays as my class went on to win several gold medals.
The Quiz competition was another event full of drama and breathtaking suspense which saw my class go from underdogs to champions.
The publicity for each event including the photoshoots are definitely the biggest upgrade from the previous health weeks for me. It gave UIMSA some sort of branding like we had never seen before. The refreshments were also quite commendable given the state of things in our country. The movie night was another great innovation by the planning committee as we had never seen it before.
The Week was not without faults though. Many events could have started on time. Some controversial issues in the sports competition could have been avoided or handled better. On a whole, it was a top Health Week.
Rating: 8/10
Anonymous: Overall, the UIMSA Health Week was fantastic. Interesting programs here and there for UIMSAites to benefit from.
The symposium was particularly commendable; the turnout was great and the conversations were brilliant. The movie night was also a fantastic initiative, although it was almost marred by inadequate seats and the very late commencement of the movie showing. Nonetheless, the provision of buses for the late night return was very commendable.
On the side, a plague reared its ugly head once more. The IMSG Quiz reeked of ineffective organisation and inexperience and was characterized by an appalling lack of punctuality. The finals were particularly disappointing. An event slated for 10am began almost 2 hours later. This year’s quiz bore almost no resemblance to the remarkable work done by the previous IMSG Quiz Committee. It is pertinent at this juncture to recommend that the SDO Clinicals improve on organising events.
Well done to every UIMSAite who made the Health Week the success that it was!
Rating: 8/10
Summarily, UIMSA’s 61st health week was a memorable experience with yet much room for improvement, especially in the areas of punctuality and organization across all the activities. However, it’s safe to say UIMSAites still had fun and are looking forward to next year’s events!
