Scholarship / The fate of people with disabilities in Nigeria. Leadership and influence essay [3]

My Facebook friend Mark said, "we should start with the problem we want to solve in the world". In Nigeria, mortality rate for people with disability is high owing to the fact that we do not have leaders/experts who can handle such cases. I aspire to be a catalyst of change, a change that begins with me.

Being a leader does not mean we have all the answers; we have the option of seeking help from others with more experience. I have had a couple of mentors whom I counted on when I needed professional and godly advice. Leadership is all about motivation and not manipulation. Two years ago, I got accepted for internship in a teaching hospital. The department where I worked organised a workshop on a course relevant to our clinical practice and we the interns were mandated to pay a huge sum of money. I was elected into the committee in charge of organisations to represent the interest of the Interns. The Interns had reservations about paying for the course because they felt it wouldn't be of any benefit to them. I took it upon myself to find the relevance of the scheduled course, it's benefits and why we should attend despite the huge fee. Two days later I called a meeting, discussed the credentials of the proposed instructor for the course, his skills which was unparalleled, and that if this opportunity was lost because of us (the committee needed the interns' contribution for the seminar to succeed) we would only have our selves to blame. Also I met one on one with the 'heavy weights' among them and was able to convince them on its relevance. Within a week, all the Interns had fully paid. A week after the course, all the Interns were so happy about the outcome of the seminar, it changed their treatment outcomes and majority that had some private patients had a higher patient satisfaction rate than before.

Effective leadership must not only confront wrongdoing but also maintain the highest ethical standards particularly in areas of money. As the 'Father figure' of the family house where I lodged during my one year service training, I was in charge of the household finance. I was handed the sum of sixty-four thousand naira with an outstanding rent of fifty thousand to be paid and other utility bills. I paid the rent, utility bills and started to grow our finance. I made sure we paid a monthly due of five hundred naira. When it was time to welcome the new batch as was the custom, we sought for funds through the use of letters to church members and senior colleagues at our various work place. I was very frugal on expenditures that I grew the house finance by 75% without any outstanding debts.

I have a vision for leadership and I believe this chevening scholarship will enhance my abilities to influence my society.

Graduate / At eight, my twin brother and I broke our right forearms. SOP for my graduate application [2]

STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

At eight, my twin brother and I broke our right forearms. Mother took us to see the doctor and after placing our hands in casts, he referred us to see the physical therapist. Some of my best days were spent at the clinic, engaging in different forms of physical activities. Since then, I have wanted to be a Physical therapist.

A decade later, I gained admission into the University of Nigeria to study Medical rehabilitation with Physiotherapy as my Major. My first year passed in a blur, amidst the thrill of finally gaining admission (the previous year, my twin had left for college). My course works were amazing, but my best still remains exercise therapy taught by Dr Nwigwe at the University's teaching hospital. My third year grades overall were not so good. Didn't make as much A's like I would have wanted because I was undergoing a lot of personal problems. In my Final year I carried out a project to explore, with the help of my supervisor, the "association between physical activity and depressive symptoms and its dependence on body image perception among students at the University of Nigeria, Enugu campus". My responsibilities were: to find out if there was a relationship between physical activity and depressive symptoms; if yes, to know whether it depended on the student's perception of their body image. The outcome of this research showed a significant relationship between physical activity and depressive symptoms, but no significant "body image perception" as a modifier.

Few months after graduation, I got a job as an intern in the Nnamdi Azikiwe university teaching hospital at Nnewi. I passed through the five units in the physiotherapy department which are Orthopedic, Neurology, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Pediatrics and Cardio-pulmonary units. I enjoyed the Pediatric and Orthopedic units best. Maybe because of the interesting cases I handled. One of such was an Ada, 18-years old female Law student at the university who was diagnosed with severe CO poisoning, from inhalation of fumes from a generation set while on vacation with her mum. She was comatose for a month and received respiratory and limb exercises to maintain clear airways and musculoskeletal integrity respectively. Consciousness and cognition levels improved, full rehabilitation was commenced and patient progressed rapidly. Two months after, patient was transferred due to remoteness to home and family.

I participated in seminars/workshops on Evidence-based management, classification and treatment of patients with Low Back Pain and Cervico-thoracic disorders. Dr Lukman Ganiyu (BMR (PT), MHSc, DPT, OCS and MTC) my instructor, greatly influenced my clinical reasoning skills and treatment pattern. About 80% of my patients had spinal related problems and after application of the modules of these seminars, I had over 40% reduction in out-patients visits. In fact, I still enjoy these outcomes in present practice today. In my current place of work, Hadejia General Hospital, where we are just three qualified physical therapists and we see minimum of fifteen patients per day. Initially, I had a problem of communication because the indigenous people of the state spoke Hausa Language (one of the major languages in Nigeria). Learning the language improved patient recovery.

I have a particular interest in the development and evaluation of meaningful outcomes in rehabilitation, clinical reasoning and decision-making and the development of clinical expertise. All these led me to seek a Master degree in Physiotherapy and Management. My interests align with those of Professor Paula Kersten and Dr Nikki petty, both of the School of Health sciences. Outcome after Trauma study (OATS), a cohort study investigating the long-term outcomes after a major trauma in terms of long-term disability and functional outcomes, being carried out by Paula Kersten and Richard Siegert is of interest to me and I would love to know the outcome of the study on completion. I am looking forward to working with Dr Nikki and Professor Paula, both of whom intrigue me.