A dapper and totally an unassuming individual, Doctor Desalegn Mechal might look diminutive and unimpressive but his plans to treat and restore happiness in the lives of people through his expertise makes him the man of substance.
He has deep interest in internal medicine and wants to get knowledge more pronounced by practice and further higher education, so that he can treat people with greater conviction. As of now, he is ready to serve people through initial placement by government in any hospital across Ethiopia.
He hails from Mure, Guraghe region. His father Mechal is a merchant and mother is no more. Among three sisters and a brother, he is second eldest; of his siblings one sister is doing nursing in Jimma University, other in Addis Ababa University pursuing computer science and the last one is in Grade ten.
When asked as to how he could achieve impressive GPA of 3.60, he said, ‘‘Sticking to my daily study plan, I went on to study three hours in the day and four at night. However, during clinical attachment, you feel tired, but I didn’t allow fatigue to get better of me.’’
In my three-year clinical attachment with Arba Minch Hospital, I learned a lot. It led our clinical foundation and now we are ready to take the plunge. Mine specialty would be internal medicine, which I can get it refined within Ethiopia itself, he added.
On future plans, he said, ‘‘I want to be an internist, a physician, who treats infectious and metabolic diseases. In our country we have quite substantial numbers of such cases on the rise and I would certainly like to be an agent to put to rest the outbreak of such maladies.’’
Holding his uncle in high esteem, he said, ‘‘My uncle, brother of my father, had been there at every moment when I needed help. Not only financially but he has been providing great deal of psychological support. Therefore, I attribute the success of mine to him in entirety. Similarly, my teachers in the college have also been very supportive.
Giving his suggestion to the coming up graduates, he said, ‘‘There is no alternative for the hard work and sustained efforts; so one must have priority right and pursue them in letter and spirit to get the desired results,’’ he summed up.
(By Corporate Communication Directorate: Philips Joseph)