The Levy Mwanawasa University Teaching Hospital in Lusaka has successfully removed a 10 by 13 millimetre kidney stone from a 5-year-old girl from Ndola on the Copperbelt.
The procedure involved making a small opening in the patient’s back and passing a thin tube into the kidney.
As someone who has survived medical school, here’s my reality check.
My Top 15.
1. You cannot cram medicine.
If you try to read 6 months’ work in 2 weeks, medical school will humble you publicly.
2. Consistency beats intelligence.
The average student who reads 2–3 hours daily will outperform the genius who waits for “motivation.”
3. Past questions are not optional.
They are the closest thing you have to prophecy.
4. Your first year determines your foundation.
Anatomy and physiology are not just courses - they are your future explanations to patients.
5. Group reading only works if everyone actually wants to read.
If it turns into gist and vibes, leave.
6. Sleep is part of your study plan.
A tired brain reads 10 pages and remembers 2.
7. You will fail something at least once - and it won’t define you.
But how you respond will.
8. Clinical years are a different battlefield.
Confidence, communication, and presentation skills can carry you even when your knowledge shakes.
9. Your colleagues are your future referrals.
Don’t make unnecessary enemies. Medicine is smaller than you think.
10. You don’t have to understand everything at once.
Medicine is a spiral. You’ll revisit topics until they click.
11. Learn to ask questions early.
Silence in ward rounds doesn’t make you smart; it makes you invisible.
12. Comparison will steal your peace.
There will always be someone who reads faster, answers quicker, and scores higher.
13. Your mental health matters.
Burnout is real. Depression in medical school is common but rarely discussed.
14. Practical skills matter.
Know how to take blood, cannulate, examine properly - theory alone won’t save you in House Job.
15. Remember why you started.
On the days you want to quit, purpose is stronger than pressure.