On 11th March 2021, Tanzania Medical Students’ Association (TAMSA-MUHAS) at Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences organized a creative writing competition to commemorate the Second Tanzania Doctors Day. The aim of the competition was to get writings which will be shared to students at different Secondary schools in Tanzania specifically those located in Dar es Salaam intending to inspire them to aspire studying Medicine in future since our country is in high demand for doctors.
According to World Health Organization, the Tanzanian doctor to patient ratio stands at 1 for every 20,000 patients, whereas the recommended ratio should be one to 300 patients. This shows that our country is in a great need for doctors.
The writing competition involved seventeen students (17) from first to fifth year and the competition went with a Question; “What motivated you to pursue a degree in medicine?” According to organizers, medical students were required to make any form of writing like a story or poem on what motivated them to pursue a degree in Medicine.
The criteria used to obtain the winners were, creativity, adherence to the question, language use and grammar, structure as well as the wow factor. Five winners were announced and awarded certificates respectively Lovemark Jonathan (first year), Sang’udi Sang’udi and Samwel Emmanuel (third year), Annabel Itael (fourth year) and Optat Kajuna (firth year).
The awarding ceremony was attended by the Vice President – Internal Affairs TAMSA Tanzania, Chairperson TAMSA MUHAS, Vice Chairperson TAMSA MUHAS, General Secretary TAMSA MUHAS, Deputy General Secretary TAMSA MUHAS, as well as Coordinator Standing Committee of Public Health TAMSA MUHAS.
