I slept so deeply that I had no recollection of waking up to turn off my 6 a.m. alarm. My roommate later told me I had done it myself. I must have been operating on autopilot because I woke up in a panic around 2 a.m., realised I hadn't revised for viva, and started studying again. I don't even know when I fell asleep the second time. The next thing I knew, it was 7:30 a.m.

My viva was scheduled for 9 a.m and I had to get ready.

Due to my matriculation number, I didn't enter until around noon. Those hours of waiting were their own examination.

I sat outside the door shaking, twisting my hair, adjusting my corporate gown repeatedly, and trying to look like someone who had her life together. Even my lecturer, who happened to be passing by, had to tell me to calm down.

Eventually, I was called in. Four faces looked back at me. Two were familiar. Two were not. These were the people who would be asking the questions that contributed to determining my final outcome.

I greeted them, stood until I was asked to sit, and tried to remember my manners while my mind was doing cartwheels.

I was asked which unit was my strongest and where I would prefer to begin. I chose Haematology cause I wanted to impress and, thankfully, I did.

The questions covered quality control in haematology and immunoglobulins, among other things. I was answering reasonably well until panic briefly got the better of me, and I said that IgG was associated with primary immune responses. Thankfully, my lecturer gave me some grace. Having heard my earlier answers, she encouraged me to calm down and think again. I mentally hit myself, corrected my thinking, and answered properly.

She smiled, my heart soared.

Then the council representative from Abuja decided I was a particularly interesting candidate for reasons I will probably never know. He asked me questions and he didn't ask my other coursemates.

Thankfully, I knew the answer. I responded quickly and confidently.

He said, "Very good." I don't think I have ever been so delighted by two words. I was elated.

Chemical Pathology followed, and I answered the first question well enough that the examiner began explaining the topic to the others. I sat there nodding appropriately, grateful for a brief reprieve from the interrogation.

Then came Microbiology and that was where I was cooked.

The first question was about why normal saline is used in stool analysis but not in the same way for urine examination. I tried to reason through it, talking about motility and aqueous media. I received a “that is a partial answer”. My heart dropped.

Then, during the explanation, the examiner mentioned the stool flotation test. I had no idea what that was. When she asked me about it, I panicked again. Thankfully, my lecturer explained that it wasn't something we routinely performed at LUTH, which gave some context to the gap in my knowledge. I could have cried in relief. The examiner eventually asked me something I knew, but I was convinced that my performance in Microbiology had cost me marks and, honestly, I understood why.

Microbiology is the area I hope to specialise in. I wanted to do well, and I was disappointed that I hadn't answered everything as confidently as I would have liked. Still, the examiners told me I had done well at the end. I tried to let that reassure me.

Then, just like that, it was over. My first professional examination was finally behind me.

The Result I Wasn't Expecting

I was too relieved to do much analysing after the viva. The mental strain of the past two days was finally over. I was on cloud nine, taking pictures, eating, and enjoying the fact that I could finally breathe without remembering another section I needed to prepare for.

I had expected the result to come out the following day. Instead, it came out on the day of my viva.

I was asleep when my roommate told me it was out. I just turned over, trying to get comfortable, and then I heard her say it. The result was out. I flew up fast!

Suddenly, all the fear I had managed to put aside came rushing back. I was terrified to check. Then my roommate smiled and said:

"Na you na, you passed."

I screamed, I didn't even know the score yet. I just knew I had passed.

Later, when I checked for myself, there it was.

76/100. An A. Pass with distinction.

Joy nearly finished me. After everything, the sleepless nights, the illness, the anxiety, the questions I couldn't answer, the experiments I struggled with, the moments I doubted myself, I had passed my first professional examination with distinction.

I had stumbled, grown, worked, worried, adapted, kept going and now I had been rewarded for it. What I remember most vividly isn't even the score itself. It's my roommate's proud smile when she told me I had passed. I think that moment will stay with me for a very long time because for weeks, I had been imagining every possible way things could go wrong and then, in one ordinary moment in my room, I discovered that things had gone right.

More Than a Score

It has been a week, and the glow is still on my face. I still look back fondly on the experience, even with all its difficult moments. I learnt that I could adapt when my original plans failed. I learnt that I could recover from a disappointing paper and still show up for the next one. I learnt that my friends' encouragement mattered, that preparation doesn't always feel like confidence, and that sometimes we underestimate ourselves because we are too busy imagining failure.

I also learnt that there are things I would do differently next time. Passing with distinction doesn't mean my preparation was perfect, and I don't want to pretend otherwise.

But perhaps that is part of what makes this achievement meaningful. I wasn't a fearless student who walked into Pros knowing she would excel. I was an anxious student who did her best, stumbled in some sections, found her footing in others, and kept going until it was over. I found that I was capable of more than my fear had allowed me to believe.

My first professional examination will always be one of the most significant papers of my Medical Laboratory Science journey. Not because everything went perfectly but because, despite everything that didn't, I made it through.

Two days. Three examination formats. Sixteen experiments. One very anxious Medical Laboratory Science student. A distinction result and a memory I will carry with me for the rest of my life🔬

I hope my journey helps to guide you and put real perspective on pros for my incoming fellow students, thank you for reading this far, goodluck!❤️