Meet Dr Maseeha Ismael Bhorat, the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s (UKZN) top medical student for 2023, who attributes her incredible success to the “thousand-thread-count support system I have in my family and friends”.
“I am fully certain that the only reason I am where I am today,” said Bhorat who is a former Crawford College La Lucia student.
Speaking about her supportive family and friends, Bhorat said they cheered her on in every aspect of life.
“I certainly hope that I have done them proud.”
With a proud 87% aggregate achiever from medical school Bhorat is currently doing her internship at the Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town.
Speaking about her six years at medical school, Bhorat said: “One thing that you learn very quickly about the MBChB degree is that it is not for the faint-hearted.”
Explaining further Bhorat said the six-week cycle of long days, high volumes of material to study and expectations placed on a student in their early 20s can become very overwhelming very quickly.
Wondering what her greatest study strategy was? Bhorat said it was to read a little bit every day so that she would have a greater foundation to build on once working at a hospital.
Bhorat’s father and four siblings are in the medical field, which she said was a great help.
“Not only did this help me when I couldn’t understand pathology, but moreover, it provided me with proof that this degree is surmountable — if you take it one step at a time, day by day.”
Her fondest memory of medical school beyond a shadow of a doubt was the friends she made along the way.
She has no idea what she will specialise in.
“I want to keep an open mind about what that field will be. There is something to be loved and learned about every speciality, hence, I don’t want to put too much pressure on myself to choose one now, before I have a chance to truly experience them as a practising doctor.”
Her interests include Yoga, ice-skating and visiting the gym, which she said was good for both her mental and physical wellbeing.
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