Sandra Duque Maurício, best mark at entry level in the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Lisbon (FMUL) interviewed by News@FMUL.

Sandra Duque Maurício, from São Mamede, in the Borough of Batalha, did her secondary schooling in the town of Fátima, and in the 2009/2010 academic year she entered the FMUL, with the particular situation of having been granted a prize right from the outset from the Students’ Association due to having been the student with the best mark on entering, with 19.65 on 20.

She has been a brilliant student since primary school, and she considers that this is due to the excellent teachers she had throughout her school career.

The idea of a course in medicine came up a little over two years ago. This faculty was her first choice, due to the quality and prestige of its teaching staff. Almost six months have gone by since her first class, and news@fmul went to check up on her expectations and find out what goes on in the mind of this young lady, born in April 1991 and now preparing to practice medicine.

It was in a room in the Egas Moniz Building, decorated with oil paintings of doctors and scientists who are a part of the history of Portuguese medicine that we talked to Sandra Maurício. She calmly and carefully told us about her career as a student in this interview, which, she told us, was the first interview in her life.

1. News@fmul: Why did you choose the FMUL?
Sandra Duque Maurício (SDM): It was my first choice because it was the FMUL and, honestly, due to the people who teach us, because most of our teachers are excellent professionals in terms of science and clinical practice.

2. News@fmul: Were high marks a constant factor in your school career? 
SDM: I have always been very dedicated and I have always been used to working hard and achieving the aims I proposed for myself. There was a problem about it being easy, but I also worked on that, because I always liked school and studying.

I did primary levels in a private school in São Mamede and then I went to secondary school in Fátima, in the private São Miguel Catholic College. I was always top of the class. I was very good at school but I have to say that it was also due to my teachers, who in my view were exceptional since primary school.

3. News@fmul: How did you get motivated into studying medicine? Are there any doctors in the family? 
SDM: No. Not at all. My father is a maintenance technician in the ceramics industry and my mother works as a receptionist and telephone operator in the same factory, because in the west of Portugal region there is a lot of activity in ceramics.

I came into medicine of my own volition and because my parents always encouraged me, not particularly in this choice, but for me to study and go further. My father always said that the best he could do for us – I have a younger sister, who is 13 – was investment in our education. They always told us to choose according to what I wanted, and as soon as the idea of this course came up I have always had their support.

4. News@fmul: Since when did the medicine course become a mature idea?
SDM: It was an idea that became more fixed about two years ago. I always liked a lot of things, from mathematics to Portuguese language. I like scientific practice, science, not in a pure sense, but with something else. Deep down medicine is that scientific practice with a humanist aim, a relational aspect that makes it different to all the others.

5. News@fmul: Are these first months in the faculty living up to your expectations?
SDM: I am enjoying higher education and the faculty is living up to my expectations totally. What surprised me is that I wasn’t expecting the quantity of work and the involvement demanded in order to follow the subjects, where disciplines like anatomy, biochemistry and molecular biology are those that involve a great deal of study. At secondary school we aren’t really used to that. I knew I would have to work, it would have to be like that, because a good doctor has to have, before anything else, these technical skills.

6. News@fmul: How did the recent first period of exams go?
SDM: The exams went better than I thought. Obviously, on the one hand there was a lot of work during the semester and on the other hand my own expectations were not very high, so that was why it was a surprise. Although I am aware that good results are not everything, the truth is that they are an encouragement for us. It was a good first semester and so a good start in what will be a long course. The most difficult thing was understanding how this period of exams can be a source of anguish for some colleagues… The fact is that we are still learning what university is.

7. News@fmul: Has your idea of medicine changed since you came to the Faculty?
SDM: Absolutely! The profession of being a doctor attracts me even more… the Hippocrates undertaking, because we have been made aware of this. In my short experience I have started to understand why it is said that medicine is the most beautiful profession in the world: through what the lecturers say I have realised the privilege it is for a doctor to be able to work and positively interfere with what is most precious to people: health. The experiences we are told about, and particularly the successful cases, motivate us even more towards medicine.

8. News@fmul: And what about your assessment marks?
SDM: That is the major difference in relation to secondary school, where we had tests and constant feedback about our performance. Now we have to wait until the end of semester exams, even though there have been some presentations that I think went well for most of us.

9. News@fmul: Do you consider that research might be an area of special interest for you?
SDM: I think that the doctor can carry out both things; that is, do research on the one hand and have clinical practice in a different phase. The ideal thing is to be able to do both. I’m keeping both options open.

10. News@fmul: Do you have any time for extra-curricular activities?
SDM: I did several different things in Batalha and in Fátima. I was involved with a group if young people for the Amnesty International organisation, I had guitar lessons, and as an extra activity I studied English. Now it’s different, I’m in my aunt and uncle’s house and don’t go to São Mamede every weekend. I take advantage of the time to study and go around Lisbon a little.

11. News@fmul: How do you get on with your colleagues?
SDM: In the first year we don’t know many people and we feel a little unprotected, so we need to relate with each other more. I didn’t feel this so much because two girls, colleagues from my school, came with me, and although we are not in the same class we keep in touch. I’ve also started to get to know more people through our group work.

12. News@fmul: How do you see yourself as a person?
SDM: I think I am sociable, but I am not particularly extrovert or someone who is always talking to everyone. I consider myself to be in the middle between having my own space and being with my friends, which is something I also value a lot. In general I don’t have any difficulties in getting on with my colleagues.

13. News@fmul: Are you already thinking about any specialisation? 
SDM: I have no idea, because I think it is too early to decide.

Carlos André
News@fmul Editorial Team
carlos.andre@campus.ul.pt