Hey loves!
You see my God yeah? He’s an amazing, amazing Father. I started this second masters program in October 2023 – whilst I was still doing my first Masters in Public health! This is because I got the opportunity to do this Master of Medical Education fully sponsored as part of my then role (Medical Education Fellow). I’ve always wanted to have a sponsored masters so it was a no-brainer to take on the challenge! Shout out to my darling Kat who kept my energy up all through the fellowship and motivated me to get the masters done as quickly as possible!
Was it hard? Yes lol. There were many times that both of my masters had competing deadlines – bear in mind I was working full time AND had a side role at the hospital…and then I got pregnant haha. God was faithful as always and made the pregnancy a beautiful one in which I could still balance my jobs and both masters all while going through immense amounts of physiological changes – thank you Jesus.
Okay so luckily for me I gave birth during the summer holidays and didn’t have to miss any classes – however classes resumed when my baby was 7 weeks old and guess who was front and centre in lectures? Me! I was determined to complete the masters thesis project in 6 months – because I knew I was going to be starting a new job and didn’t want to have to balance the thesis with it and of course everything else I have going on like being a first time parent – so it meant I was going to double my work rate since I technically had a whole year to finish. I quickly told my supervisor my plan – including my plan to graduate with a distinction and she was so supportive, like not for a second did she doubt the feasibility. Dr McConnell went bar for bar with my energy, I’d set short deadlines for each section and she would be right there in the working draft document making comments and suggestions in line with my expedited timeline. God really blessed me when placing her as my supervisor!!
So I did it! I wrote out a research timeline and stuck to it strictly – there were long periods where I was pumping milk and writing and gosh the energy that breastfeeding takes? Some days I’d be like “right! Now that I’ve put my son to bed let me write some more”…only to fall asleep after just one paragraph haha. But I kept at it and when I had bursts of energy – even if it was at 2am after a feed, I’d quickly write down my ideas so I could build on it next time I got a chance to lock-in.
Big shout out to my support system: my husband Samuel, my mom-in-love, my sister – between the three of them they would take care of my son and give me entire study days when I needed to make a deadline – all I had to do was make sure I pumped enough milk. Some days Joyce would even bring me meals because I was so locked in and didn’t want to break the flow of writing so I’d have forgotten to eat; my team made it possible big time.
When I saw the notification of my award I gasped. To see the words “With Distinction” actualize on my degree made me so overwhelmed with joy. I worked so hard consistently for years. I remember how I had wanted a distinction in my first masters but I was going through so much emotionally at the time (that whole wedding debacle at my former church that went on for almost a year) that my mind was not settled enough to lock in like I would have. It felt like I was restored when I got this award. Like the reward for my efforts were finally being recognized. I’m so grateful Jesus.
What will I do with this degree? For now I will continue to keep up with my part-time medical education roles alongside my GP training (I.e. examining medical students, teaching on the Master of Public Health course) – but who knows what tomorrow holds? My God, that’s who, and that’s who I trust to direct my path always.
Let’s get into the celebrations shall we?
Till next time,
Dr ETK xo
