COLLEGE OF MEDICINE - The first decade s
From a medicalstudentto a medical doctor D Namarika Dan Namarika graduated in 1999 from the Coltege of Medicine as one of the first group that did their entire medical training ryithin l\lalawi.
not acquiled all the necessaryequipment teaching aids and infrastrutureto smoothly seeus through our course.The library was situatedat the Polytechnicand had not acquiredmost of the recommendedtextbooks.The College had to rent classrooms and laboratoryspacefrom the Polytechnic,Kamuzu College of N u l s i n ga n d M a l a w iA g a i n s rP o l i o . However,strongpoints of the Collegeat the time were the cafeteria and most importantly to the "Big Five', -
ProfessorsBoniface Msamati (Anatomy and with only one cadaverfrom Tanzania!),Mary flallaway (Biochemistry),John A I I w a s s i l e n ta s e v e r y b o d yw a i t e dl b r f h e l a t e f u lh o u r t o r e u p Patrick (Physiology), Tim Cullinan and Gocltiey Ssembaryathe fiuits sown over the previous five years of the Medical Lule (Community Health). To these lecturerswe owe a lot as course. The clock did not stop ticking - it was 5.30pm on 23rd they not only provided the necessaryacademicground in our day of July I999 and the Secreraryio the Vice-principal was yearsbut also the psychological,supportthat we requirecl putting the results of that yearfsfinal MBBS examinationson early during thosedifTicultfirst two yearsof Basic Medical Sciences. the noticeboard.It was not surprisingto seethe affinity that had Probablymy most memorableday in the cllnicalyears i.$F'*i,
,r#-'
1'l G ru J tru I i t r,q,\' I u (lL't t t,\
developedbetweenthe NoticeBoard and l8 medicalstudents. was when I was doing my O & G rotation in my final year. especiallyas thcy had .just been mentally tortured fbr the Prof'essorLaban Mtimavalye was my supervisorand he knew previoustwo weeks. A relief anclthe most astonisl.ring thing me pretty well but this day he calledme into his ofTiceto look wasthat all of us cameout smilirrg,laughing.jumping, shouting at my log book and afierwardsaskedme the tbllowing:-.,What as we had all"accomplished our ntission- to becomeMedical is your name?" I answered- "Dan". "Dan who?" - ,.Dan D o c t o r s .I p e l s o n a l l yw a se x c i t e dh e c a u sael l a l o n gI h a d b e e n N a m a l i k u (" o n eo f t h ee a s i e sr e lo l ' q u e s t i o nt o s a n s w edr u r i n g dressedin trorrowedrobcs as "Doctor" by relativesand friends my training!). He continued . "Is that so?" and then we w h e nI f e l t I w u s n o l o n e y e t . continued to discuss the contents of the log-book. Only It was clear to all of us that some of the superstitions profe.ssors can make absent-minded enquiry o n s i c k n e s tsh a t h a d p r e v i o u s l ye n s l a v e du s a n d t h e a s s o c i a t e d .resemble i n t e l l i g e nct o n t e m p l a r i o n . phenomenathat had bewilcleredus had vanishedafter five years Two years after qualifying as a Medical Doctor, I am of training.Thanksto the many lecturerswho tirelesslybrought now seeingthe theory learnt in Collegetranslatinginto practice this light to us. Thank3also to our parents,relatives,wives and at Lilongwe Central Hospital while some of my friends are childrenwho probably waited more patientlythan even someof District Health Officers, or working in CHAM Hospitals. It is our patientsdo. But this road had not been all smoothand rosy. becomingclear to me that diseasesdo not read booksbut rather There were more potholes than the old Thyolo road. As the first the oppositehappens. classof studentsto be fully trainedin Malawi, the college had 2l
Malawi Medical Joumal
From a medicalstudentto a medical doctor D Namarika Dan Namarika graduated in 1999 from the Coltege of Medicine as one of the first group that did their entire medical training ryithin l\lalawi.
not acquiled all the necessaryequipment teaching aids and infrastrutureto smoothly seeus through our course.The library was situatedat the Polytechnicand had not acquiredmost of the recommendedtextbooks.The College had to rent classrooms and laboratoryspacefrom the Polytechnic,Kamuzu College of N u l s i n ga n d M a l a w iA g a i n s rP o l i o . However,strongpoints of the Collegeat the time were the cafeteria and most importantly to the "Big Five', -
ProfessorsBoniface Msamati (Anatomy and with only one cadaverfrom Tanzania!),Mary flallaway (Biochemistry),John A I I w a s s i l e n ta s e v e r y b o d yw a i t e dl b r f h e l a t e f u lh o u r t o r e u p Patrick (Physiology), Tim Cullinan and Gocltiey Ssembaryathe fiuits sown over the previous five years of the Medical Lule (Community Health). To these lecturerswe owe a lot as course. The clock did not stop ticking - it was 5.30pm on 23rd they not only provided the necessaryacademicground in our day of July I999 and the Secreraryio the Vice-principal was yearsbut also the psychological,supportthat we requirecl putting the results of that yearfsfinal MBBS examinationson early during thosedifTicultfirst two yearsof Basic Medical Sciences. the noticeboard.It was not surprisingto seethe affinity that had Probablymy most memorableday in the cllnicalyears i.$F'*i,
,r#-'
1'l G ru J tru I i t r,q,\' I u (lL't t t,\
developedbetweenthe NoticeBoard and l8 medicalstudents. was when I was doing my O & G rotation in my final year. especiallyas thcy had .just been mentally tortured fbr the Prof'essorLaban Mtimavalye was my supervisorand he knew previoustwo weeks. A relief anclthe most astonisl.ring thing me pretty well but this day he calledme into his ofTiceto look wasthat all of us cameout smilirrg,laughing.jumping, shouting at my log book and afierwardsaskedme the tbllowing:-.,What as we had all"accomplished our ntission- to becomeMedical is your name?" I answered- "Dan". "Dan who?" - ,.Dan D o c t o r s .I p e l s o n a l l yw a se x c i t e dh e c a u sael l a l o n gI h a d b e e n N a m a l i k u (" o n eo f t h ee a s i e sr e lo l ' q u e s t i o nt o s a n s w edr u r i n g dressedin trorrowedrobcs as "Doctor" by relativesand friends my training!). He continued . "Is that so?" and then we w h e nI f e l t I w u s n o l o n e y e t . continued to discuss the contents of the log-book. Only It was clear to all of us that some of the superstitions profe.ssors can make absent-minded enquiry o n s i c k n e s tsh a t h a d p r e v i o u s l ye n s l a v e du s a n d t h e a s s o c i a t e d .resemble i n t e l l i g e nct o n t e m p l a r i o n . phenomenathat had bewilcleredus had vanishedafter five years Two years after qualifying as a Medical Doctor, I am of training.Thanksto the many lecturerswho tirelesslybrought now seeingthe theory learnt in Collegetranslatinginto practice this light to us. Thank3also to our parents,relatives,wives and at Lilongwe Central Hospital while some of my friends are childrenwho probably waited more patientlythan even someof District Health Officers, or working in CHAM Hospitals. It is our patientsdo. But this road had not been all smoothand rosy. becomingclear to me that diseasesdo not read booksbut rather There were more potholes than the old Thyolo road. As the first the oppositehappens. classof studentsto be fully trainedin Malawi, the college had 2l
Malawi Medical Joumal
