Hello Hussam, can you briefly introduce yourself and your family to us?

I'm Hussam Kiwan. I am 23 years old. I am Syrian. I am a 5th grade student at Ondokuz Mayıs University Faculty of Medicine. We are two brothers and a sister; my parents and my younger brother live together in the United Arab Emirates. My mom and dad are doctors. My brother lives in the USA, a gastroenterologist; my sister is a biotechnology specialist in France.

Was it your dream to study medicine?

Studying medicine was my childhood dream. The biggest reason for this was my brother. When I was a kid, he sat in front of me and wonderfully talked about medicine while studying. At that time, of course, I didn't understand anything, but I think my brother's impressive style of expression was what impressed me the most. Maybe that's what got me interested in the academic part of medicine.

How did you decide to come to Ondokuz Mayıs University  for studying medicine?

I took the YÖS exams, and as a result of my test score, I was accepted to three universities in Turkey, one of which was in Istanbul. After research, questioning and consultations, I learned that there are problem-based learning processes in Ondokuz Mayıs University Faculty of Medicine and that clinical cases and practice training is excellent. I chose Ondokuz Mayıs University. Of course, I saw the contribution of these applications to the research skills of the medical student, and I think I had the opportunity to learn the most important things.

By the way, you are studying medicine in English, but you also speak Turkish very well? How did you improve your Turkish language skill?

The environment has a massive impact on learning a new language. When I came to Samsun, I wanted to have Turkish friends, so I stayed in the dormitory. This choice caused both the development of my language and the formation of a circle of friends. At the same time, I laid the foundations for learning a new language by going to a Turkish course.

You succeeded in being a semi-finalist in ClinicalKey Student Global Challenge 2021. Can you tell us about this competition?

Elsevier is the world's most publishing organization in the scientific, technical and medical fields. It held a competition for medical students for the first time in 2019, and it could not be continued in 2020 due to the pandemic. In 2021, he announced the ClinicalKey Student Global Challenge 2021 on social media and became a competition organization that brought together more than 7500 medical students from more than 100 countries. The competition consists of 5 stages. The four stages consist of 25 questions of The United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) type. In the 5th stage, there was video shooting. I was on a long journey when the 5th stage, the video shooting stage, was announced. Unfortunately, I could not shoot the video with the required efficiency because the time was short.

How did you apply for the ClinicalKey Student Global Challenge 2021?

I got an email from them because I have a student account on the Elsevier website. When I initially learned that Elsevier was running this competition for medical students, it was no ordinary news because it is organized by a medical organization the size of Elsevier. That's why I applied right away.

Your classes are intense, but what do you do in your social life? How is it to be in Turkey, to live in Samsun?

There is always time to do something in life. If a student says that he spends all his time on intensive lessons without a social activity, it means he is wasting some of his time. On the other hand, if a person's time is full of activities, productivity increases. Because he knows that the time left to study is limited, and he learns as efficiently and wisely as possible without delaying or wasting time. I noticed this during my school years when my GPA increased significantly in my sophomore year after volunteering at MedX because I learned to use my free time efficiently without wasting it.

What is your expectation for the future? What do you want to do after graduation?

I am currently preparing for the specialty exam and trying to become a cardiologist J

What would you recommend to our friends who will prefer OMU?

I have friends who are medical students from different universities. When I talk to them, I see that our university's School of Medicine focuses on the essential things. The education system in our university; focuses on improving your research and learning skills. While both are important, practices are more important than memorizing medical websites and references is what you need as a doctor, I think.