KMHS Alumni: Chukwuka Eneh, MD Candidate

by Kaplan Medical Honor Society | June 30, 2020
Kaplan Medical Honor Society

We created The Kaplan Medical Honor Society to acknowledge and applaud our students’ excellence in the medical field. The KMHS is made up of students who have taken a Kaplan course and achieved a 250 or better on Step 1, Step 2 CK, or Step 3. Most of our KMHS members are International Medical Graduates that come from over 40 different countries to study at our centers and experience life in the US. In this blog series, you will learn about their journeys to the US, how they managed the rigors of medical school, and what steps they took to ensure their successes on USMLE. This week, we're pleased to introduce you to Chukwuka Eneh from Nigeria.

Kaplan Medical Honor Society

Name: Chukwuka Eneh (a.k.a KayKay)   

Home Country: Nigeria

Name of Medical School Attended: Caribbean Medical University, Curaçao

USMLE Score: 255

Tell Us About Yourself

Why did you decide to become a doctor?

I am from a medical family with four doctors. I grew up in and around a hospital and have always wanted to be able to help.

Which field of medicine do you plan on specializing in?

Interventional Cardiology and mission medicine.

Why did you decide to take the US licensure exam?

I took the US licensure exam to give me better opportunities for the specialty I want and for my goals even beyond medicine.

How do you think your unique background has prepared you for success as a doctor?

I believe that my tenacity and diligence will help me be a successful doctor.

If you hadn’t decided to become a doctor, what kind of work would you have pursued? 

I would have been a teacher (Organic Chemistry most likely, lol). I really love to teach and plan on doing so as a doctor.

Tell Us About Your Study Habits & Kaplan Courses

How did Kaplan help you on your path to becoming an MD in the United States?

I met great students and professors who showed me I still had a lot more studying to do. 

Please describe how the Kaplan Medical course helped you achieve your high score.

Kaplan taught me the importance of knowledge application through going over questions. 

What does being in the Kaplan Medical Honor Society mean to you?

It's wonderful recognition for the tremendous effort I put into studying for the exams. 

Tell Us About Your Medical School Experience

In your opinion, what is the biggest issue facing international medical students today? 

The fact that we generally don’t really know any academic doctors and we don’t have too many people that have gone ahead of us to medical school, so we end up learning so much about the entire exam and residency process while we are already right in the middle of it all.

Can you tell us more about your studying habits?

I focused mainly on question banks and then supplemented those with the First Aid book. There were also some helpful online videos too! Finally, it’s nice to have someone you can bounce ideas off of, even if it’s just over the phone.

Advice

What advice do you have for fellow IMG preparing for the USMLE?

Do as many questions as you can, if you’re done with a good bank, think of repeating it. Also don’t give up, it sounds cliche but you definitely need to have this at the back of your mind, studying for the uSMLE is a very very tedious process,  it gets especially worse if you’re not making progress at the speed you expect. More than anything else in med school this is the most step by step part and you must remember to treat it as such. Definitely keep pushing, it’s worth it in the end.

Is there a quote or saying that you live by? 

Life doesn’t give you layups, no matter your opponent, no matter your opponent, you must give it your all. 

Share a Few Interesting Facts

Do you have a personal or professional hero?

My personal hero is definitely my mother. She has worked so hard at her career throughout her life while also making sure that family time was a priority.

Tell us about a time where you “failed” at something, and what you learned from the experience.

When I scored very poorly on the MCAT, I assumed it was because I was a "bad test taker." In reality, I just didn't know how to actually study for an exam like that at the time. But I learnt to thoroughly study for the USMLE by using Kaplan resources and it didn't let me down!

And finally, what are your plans for the future?

I plan to finish residency in Arizona and pursue a career as a hospitalist or apply for a fellowship of my choosing. Afterwards, I plan on staying in the United States or Canada for the duration of my career.

Stay tuned each month for a new blog post from one of our amazing Kaplan Medical Honor Society students!

A note about the recent USMLE Step 1 Announcement:

While we understand that the future move to Pass/Fail on Step 1 will have an impact on the residency application process, Step 2CK will continue to be a scaled three digit score, and as such becomes an even more important metric for students to differentiate themselves from other applicants.

Welcome to the Kaplan Medical Honor Society (KMHS) monthly blog series! Kaplan created The Honor Society to acknowledge and applaud our students’ excellence in the medical field. These scores are crucial to their career options and we’re proud to recognize the best of the best. This blog series will be a showcase for their stories that we hope will inspire others around the world. The KMHS is made up of Kaplan students who have taken a Kaplan course and achieved a 250 or better on Step 1, Step 2 CK, or Step 3. We reward them for their hard work and success by giving them a free online course for Step 3, exclusive course discounts, and even job opportunities within Kaplan Medical. Applicants for US residency also get the ability to list Kaplan Medical Honor Society under Awards and Achievements on their ERAS applications.

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