Hello. I'm trying to fulfill a promise to a few young IMGs who have read my blog and wondered why I don't update it anymore. We just get caught in the every day hustle and bustle of life.
It has been 2, no 3 years. Time really does fly ooh. Anyway I lost enthusiasm for the series but ill try to relay my experience over the past years since the MDCN parol. It's the Diary of an IMG afterall. Lol.
After MDCN it was to your tent ooh. I honestly don't know if the process of finding house jobs has gotten easier. I had to wait almost a year. Wrote interviews in many hospitals around Lagos to Ibadan, Ogun state. Even Enugu, Abuja, Owerri, Asaba and Osun state. Till it dawned on me that the best chance for a house job placement lies in your own state.
Anyway ill just say my folks did not have leg. Its very sad that our country cannot make use of the intellect available to it simply because we cannot look past tribal and state of origin issues. Anyway I finally got a place to do my house job in my state teaching hospital. Anambra state. Now Chukwuemka Odumegwu Ojukwu University Teaching Hospital.
I started my house job in October of 2014. Induction was November of 2013. My mistake is that I did not really start anything or learn anything new because I kept expecting house job to turn up. I would like to ask you not to repeat my mistake. In my opinion, there are plenty skills you can learn. From computer to medical to even marketable skills. My bet is that It would come in handy.
If you find yourself in the same boat as I did, if you come from family where leg 'no too dey' then just start something while you wait for your house job. If you are planning to leave Nigeria to further your medical career and you are looking at UK or US, then it would be wise to get on the process. For UK, you can start planning and write your IELTS. The problem is that IELTS expires after two years, so be ready to use it within a year. Even if you finally get a place to do your house job.
House job is important because when you pass MDCN, you get a provisional lisence. That license expires after a year or two. It is after your house job that you can apply for a full license. I will talk about the possible career plans for returning IMGs in the next two blog posts.
Next post will cover my house job experience.
