The book of Daniel talks about the life of a young Hebrew boy studying in Babylon. He was defined as one who had an excellent spirit (Dan 5:12) even the unbelieving Babylonian queen could not help but describe him as one in whom the spirit of the holy gods dwelled in. This meant that the level of his knowledge and the depth of his understanding surpassed the one featured in the ‘curriculum’. His wealth of knowledge stemmed from his deep understanding of biblical principles that it made it so exemplary. His principles were simple, straight forward, and based entirely on the guidelines outlined in scriptures. The ideal Christian medical student must imbibe the following strategies if their aim is not only to excel academically, but also to emit light that illuminates the way of other lost and confused students around them.
1. Unwavering, strong stance against com- promise (Dan 1:8): Pressure and threat does not persuade an ideal christian medical student to change his stance. He is not afraid to be different even in the face of ridicule. You stand out from the crowd by your ingenuity, not by following it.
2. Consistent Prayers (Dan 6:21, 9:3, 2:7): Many secrets to attaining unprecedented excellence are not found in books. Secret things belong to the Lord, and only those who seeks his face through prayers can have access to them.
3. Strong companionship with people you share similar goals (Dan 2:17): The Academic journey is a stressful one. Having a group of one or two who you share academic burden, especially those who are believers, and you can pray with about anything is gold.
4. Leveraging the Holy spirit of God (Daniel 2:15-19, 5:11, I John 2:20): But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things. Before every exams and in course, you ask the holy spirit to search the deep things concerning the exams for you. 5. Deep study and meditation on your course work as you do with the word of God (Dan 9:2, 1 Tim. 4.15, Prov 22:29): The Christian medical student is not lazy. He sees his academic as his spiritual obligation to God, and not as a burden or distractions to serving God. As you have learnt to read the scripture, you pay such attention to all your books, and you study meditatively through every chapter. 6. Avoid Contaminants: There are people who are already discouraged about the journey. They only speak pessimism. Avoid such at all costs if you can’t help them. The Christian medical student understands that his excellence is both an emblem of God’s faithfulness and a po- tent tool in the journey of caring for the whole man, body spirit and soul, so he is not complacent about any aspect of his wholesome excellence. This is the reason why he/she must be guided by biblical principles to ensure that while he pursues such, he does not neglect the right way it must be done. The end of it all is that through our works, Light is sprung up to lighten the gentiles, and that God is glorified. Before anything, remember you are a Christian that is a medical student, and not a medical student that is a Christian.
Clement Elam
