Al-Qalam 
By Nabeelah Shaikh
Maseeha Bhorat has been surrounded by doctors all her life – her father and four other siblings are all in the medical field.
It is no wonder then that she naturally followed in their footsteps – and came out tops.
Bhorat recently graduated summa cum laude with her MBChB degree and achieved an 87% aggregate.
Bhorat said she always wanted to be a doctor and it’s no surprise why she chose this field of study. Watching her father and four older siblings go into and excel in the medical field, had a big influence on her career choice. She is the daughter of world-renowned foetal specialist Dr Ismail Bhorat.
Her father said he was thrilled with her achievements.
“I was over the moon. She has been number one her entire schooling career. Since grade one, she has never come second. She got the Dux award in multiple grades and for every year during her MBChB, she was number one. What stunned me was that she got an 87% aggregate. Having been through the course myself, I know how difficult this is to achieve,” said Dr Ismail Bhorat.
During her graduation, she also achieved the Dean’s Commendations and additional accolades.
Maseeha is currently an intern at the Groote Schuur Hospital and says she owes her success to the thousand-thread-count support system she has in her family and friends.
“I am fully certain that the only reason I am where I am today is because of them. They have, and continue to cheer me on in all aspects of my life, and I certainly hope that I have done them proud,” said Bhorat.
Bhorat told Al-Qalam had the privilege of being taught by some incredible senior doctors throughout her six years at medical school. They pushed her to give her best – and that’s all she ever wanted to do.
She said she knew in her heart that being a doctor is all she wanted for herself and she worked hard to achieve that.
“Knowledge is power, and I think there’s no greater privilege than being able to understand the intricacies of what our bodies go through to keep us alive – it’s incredibly humbling and truly fascinating,” said Bhorat.
Bhorat, who put all her efforts into excelling during her studies, sayid the one thing she has learnt is that an MBChB degree is not for the faint-hearted.
“The six-year cycle of long days, high volumes of material to study and expectations placed on a student in their early 20s can become very overwhelming very quickly,” said Bhorat.
Her recipe for success has been to make time to read a little each day.
“This allowed me to have a greater foundation to build on once working at a hospital,” said Bhorat. She says what truly kept her afloat was the support of her family.
“I am in a fortunate and unique position where all of my siblings and parents are already in the medical field. Not only did this help me when I couldn’t understand pathology, but moreover, it provided me with proof that this degree is surmountable – if you take it one step at a time, day by day,” said Bhorat.
When it comes to what the future holds for her and the path she chooses as a doctor, Bhorat said she believes that she is still in the infancy of her career.
“While I know that I would love to specialise in a field, I want to keep an open mind about what that field will be. There is something to be loved and learned about every speciality. Hence, I don’t want to put too much pressure on myself to choose one now before I have a chance to truly experience them as a practising doctor,” said Bhorat.
She said the one thing that kept her sane throughout her time at medical school was striking a balance and making time for the things that interest her, which are unrelated to medicine.
“I fell in love with yoga very early on and this kept me grounded in the difficult times and taught me how to regulate my emotions and handle them better. I tried new things like ice skating and also found a passion for general fitness at the gym. I am grateful that I have been able to take these practices with me through to internship, and I will continue to strive to maintain my mental, physical, and emotional wellbeing,” she said.
