Oct
Student Spotlight: Uyiosa Ogunbor, Medical student and founder of Medsimple
Our VP Education & Democracy, Avila, recently spoke to Uyiosa Ogunbor, a final-year Medical student who has also started her own business – Medsimple, a learning platform supporting prospective medical and healthcare students.
Hear about Uyiosa’s inspiration and challenges of starting a business, Black History Month, diversity and what the future holds.
Avila: What advice would you give to someone wanting to start their own business?
Uyiosa: My advice to anyone wishing to start a business would be the following:
- Believe in yourself and go for it – at the beginning of my journey, I had people doubt my ability to balance medical school with “a business of this nature”, but I have done it and so can you!
- Make sure you understand the market you are attempting to penetrate and ensure you are solving a worth-while problem for your customers – your customers are your prime focus.
What has been the most challenging part of your business so far?
The most challenging part has been balancing the demands of my medical school degree with Medsimple. I started Medsimple in my second year of medical school and now I am in my final year. It has been a journey but through it I have learnt the importance of prioritisation, knowing when to ask for help and the importance of delegation.
What would you say has been the biggest highlight?
Aside from the number of students we have been able to impact through our work in supporting aspiring medics with their application. Our next biggest highlight is our feature on BBC Radio earlier this year.
To what do you owe your success?
I attribute the success of Medsimple to resilience and my ‘apprentice’ style. Some seasons have been harder than others, yet despite their individual difficulty, I have persevered with the vision of Medsimple at the forefront of all I do. I have also adopted an apprentice style approach where I am constantly learning through reading books (my current reads are ‘The One Thing’ – Gary Keller & ‘Contagious’ – Jonah Berger), asking questions and not being afraid to fail.
What does diversity mean to you?
Simply put, diversity to me is when anyone can look at a sector, a community, an area and feel safe because there is a form representation they can identify with. Diversity is important in healthcare because people of different skin tones present differently, have cultural differences and ideologies that can affect their medical presentation. To treat a patient holistically, insight is required and to obtain this insight, diversity is needed. A diverse workforce will help us better serve people.
What do you think is the message that people should take away from Black History Month?
Black History Month should be empowering! Although, we should not wait for one month in the year to empower us, it should be a celebration of our community and the impact individuals are making to change the trajectory for the next generation. It should pose as a reminder that although things are not perfect, change is happening. A reminder that we must continue striving whilst educating, empowering and celebrating our children.
What inspired you to start Medsimple?
As the first doctor-to-be in my family, having attended a state school, with zero doctors in my network, my journey into Medicine was arduous. Additionally, in medical school, although ~25% are BAME, only 3% of all medical students in the UK are from a black origin. My wish to widen access into Medicine coupled with my interest in entrepreneurship led to the curation of Medsimple. Medsimple is a learning platform and service-based company providing up-to-date, centralised, and personalised resources for all stages of the medicine admissions process. The platform has hundreds of videos, thousands of questions and allows students to learn at their own pace, make notes, ask questions whilst tailoring their application to the universities of their choice.
Where do you plan to go from here?
The plan is to continue working on Medsimple and ensuring we are impacting more young people year on year through our workshops, online platform, and school collaborations.
Do you have any more events coming up?
We are launching our new interview platform in the upcoming weeks – make sure you are subscribed to our newsletter and follow our social media (@medsimplehq) to ensure you are the first to find out. Don’t forget to tell an aspiring medic too!
We would love to share even more student, society and club spotlights! If you know a person or group who deserve to be in the spotlight please contact sumarketing@susu.org.
Tags: Black History Month, Medical Students, student spotlight