Dr. Glen Oriaifo- First IAU Graduate to Secure Licensure in Nigeria.
Dr. Oriaifo is currently doing his psychiatry residency at Carilion Clinic- Virginia Tech School of Medicine. He is also the first IAU graduate to get licensed in Nigeria! We asked Dr. Oriaifo to share in his own words, his reason for choosing IAU and his journey till now.
My decision to choose IAU forever changed my life for the best. Clearly, there are so many Caribbean medical universities. I chose IAU for the small class sizes as well as the dedicated faculty and staff. My journey started in January of 2011.
During my basic science years, I was one of the co-founders and president of the African Students’ Association as well as one of the leaders of the IAU Christian Fellowship. These roles provided great opportunities to explore and develop my leadership skills which were instrumental to my future success. Through these associations we were able to visit homes for the elderly and orphanage homes. We were also able to help organize and participate in various community health fairs where we were involved in screening patients with various common diseases like hypertension and diabetes mellitus.
I completed my basic sciences in 2012 and subsequently completed my rotations as well as my USMLE Step 1 and Step 2. I had tremendous opportunities during my rotations and was able to improve my clinical acumen, diagnostic and decision making skills. I eventually graduated in 2015, completed my USMLE step 3 and applied for the Residency Match. IAU was extremely helpful during the residency application process.
While waiting for the match results, I decided to go back to my home country Nigeria, to gain some experience in tropical medicine as well as how medicine is practiced in sub-Saharan Africa. I also decided to productively use this time to prepare for my Nigerian licensing examination which I successfully passed. With that I became the first IAU graduate to be licensed in Nigeria. The Residency results later came out and I matched into a Psychiatry residency at Carilion Clinic – Virginia Tech School of Medicine.
In hindsight, I believe IAU prepared me extremely well, they have a solid curriculum and I felt well prepared for my various examinations. But most importantly, I believe IAU prepared me on how to become a Doctor and I am extremely happy that I decided on embarking on my medical journey with IAU.
We wish Dr. Oriaifo continued success in his medical career and aspirations and we at IAU are all very proud of his accomplishments.
