The UIMSA Executive Council from the office of the Special Duties Officer (Preclinicals), Greatness Abraham, organized the preclinical orientation for the Imperium (2k26) class on the 29th of June, 2024, at the Preclinical Lecture Theatre (PLT).
The program, themed, “A Guide Through Preclinical School: Making the Most of Your Time” was hosted by Peter Adeyemo, from the 2k25 class. The program which was scheduled for 10 am started at exactly 10:47 am due to initial low turnout.
The program started with an opening remark by the Special Duties Officer (Preclinicals). Thereafter the host introduced the speakers; all members of the 2k24 class, who had just crossed over to the clinical side and still had fresh first-hand experience of what preclinicals entail.
The first speaker, David Akinjare, a public speaker, and the current Vice President of the Asido Campus Network, University of Ibadan, spoke on the topic “The Fine Balance: Making the Most of On-campus Leadership”. He emphasised the importance of growing beyond just academics, making the most of the limited time medical students have on the UI campus to build capacity, and learning to take on leadership positions.
The second speaker, Collins Ijezie, spoke on “Academic Excellence: Going the Extra Mile”. He spoke about how being curious, strategic, and emphasized on active learning together with studying smart as important prerequisites for excelling academically in their preclinical school journey and beyond. He also advised the new preclinical students to understand the system before going too deep into it.
The third speaker, Promise Adeji-Paul, spoke on the topic, “Gems for the Everyday Student: Ensuring You are Never Left Behind in Medical School”. He discussed the intricacies of learning, the importance of study groups and also emphasized on planning and prioritizing the important things in order not to be left behind.
The last speaker, Chidinma Nwuta, spoke on the topic, “Beyond Ibadan: Positioning Yourself for Local and International Opportunities”. She spoke about maximizing opportunities in medical school, and more importantly foreseeing, planning, and taking actions on their future, which does not center on academics alone.
Afterwards, a quick question-and-answer session was held. The orientation program came to an end at exactly 12:47pm with the Special Duties Officer’s closing remark.
Eninlaloluwa Popoola.
