This is a testament on how I secured my clinical internship as an international physiotherapy student.
You might wonder why getting a placement at a government hospital is considered a miracle. Well, let me tell you!
I was supposed to do my internship during my second-year summer break, but instead, I spent the entire summer in Nigeria. I thought I could complete my internship in Istanbul, where the school would help me find a clinic—and I heard that nursing students even received a stipend. So, I decided to pursue that option.
However, upon arriving in Turkey, I learned that placements were based on CGPA. Mind you, I had the worst GPA of my entire university record the semester before. Still, I held onto hope. To make matters worse, there were only 10 slots available for over 90 students seeking placements in government hospitals. I was pretty sure I wouldn’t be among the chosen few.
Once again, I turned to God. Whenever I couldn’t express myself, tears would just flow. Then, the moment of truth arrived—the list was out, and I was number 9! Can you believe it? Number 9! I couldn’t stop asking, “How is this possible?” I was assigned to Basaksehir State Hospital. The only challenge I faced there was the long commute, but the supervisors were incredibly kind to me.
During my first and last weeks, we had no patients, which led to the birth of Jemmylistens. They encouraged me to pursue my writing, and I would often be found napping in the ward. Whenever they saw me, they would check if I wanted biscuits or chocolates. Oh, God bless their sweet souls
Then came the time for professional clinical practice. The department management announced that everyone should try to secure their own placements, as the school only had 11 slots for government hospitals. I was anxious—how was I supposed to do this? But funny enough, I felt a strange confidence that something good would happen.
When the list was posted, though, my name was nowhere to be found. I thought, “Ah, they’ve finally put my CGPA in its place!” One of the students whose name was on the list mentioned he already had a clinic, so I privately messaged him to ask for a recommendation. He told me he couldn’t because placements were based on merit. I felt defeated and wondered what else I could do.
Then, another hospital was posted in the group chat. It was about three hours from my house, and I figured that God must have a plan. I sent an email expressing my willingness to accept that placement, even though I knew it might be a tough experience.
Engin Esau replied, asking if I had seen the address and if I was sure about it. While I was typing my response, he called my phone, but I missed it. He sent another email saying he had called and asked me to return the call. When I did, he informed me that the other student had backed out of a different hospital and asked if I wanted to take that spot. I was ecstatic!
He mentioned that my CGPA was good enough and instructed me to send an email confirming my acceptance. As he spoke, I composed the email and hit send before he even finished the call.
By the time I got the name of the hospital, it was Cam and Sakura City hospital ..Wow!
You want to know why this is such a big deal?
Every student wanted that place..it was a very big and modern hospital and it is said to have the biggest ICU unit in the whole of Europe!
How did I get that?…Obviously not by merit!
What do we call that?
Let’s wrap this up with what Leah always says: “Mide, you are graced!”
Thank you so much for taking the time to read my blog post! I’m committed to sharing my journey and feeding your reading appetite with every diary entry. If you have stories of your own or messages to share, feel free to reach out to me on jemmylistens@gmail.com—I’d love to feature your stories too! Don’t forget to subscribe to my blog, and follow me on Instagram. I’ll be in the comments section, eagerly waiting for your thoughts on this blog I’ll see you here sometime next week!
PS: NO REAL NAMES WERE USED ASIDES MINE !!!
I KNOW YOU WILL BE HAPPY TO SEE ME BEFORE THEN!😉
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