From Setbacks to the White Coat: My journey to Medicine

Anastasia Abongnelah
Apr 23
5 min read

In 2014, I sat outside my dean's office, waiting for a decision that would greatly influence the trajectory of my academic career.

When the decision came, it wasn't the outcome I hoped for. My eyes filled with tears as it all sank in. My academic journey, my dreams, my future seemed as though it was at its end. I packed my things and return back from the UK to the US. In that moment of perceived failure, shame and devastation, I lost all hope. I couldn't even imagine myself getting a college degree, let alone wearing a white coat.

With the encouragement of my family and many days of prayer and fasting, I felt a burden to start again. I tried to transfer my UK credits back into community college; but, I was unsuccessful— I realised that I would be starting from scratch.

Still, I knew this was my calling — I was made for medicine.

A new challenge became prevalent when I took my first college exam. I had studied like never before, desperate to avoid the pain of failure I had felt in the UK. But as I sat for my first test, my hands began to shake. My heart pounded as questions on a topic I knew incredibly well suddenly looked like a foreign language. Later, I met my professor and she said “What happened Anastasia? We discussed these topics with great detail. You answered all my verbal questions correctly during my office hours — you knew this better than your results show."

So began a new problem that plague me throughout my undergraduate years. On some exams, I barely began writing only to hear the invigilator say "drop your pens, time is up." Other times, I would miss entire pages. I would leave the exam thinking I was done, only to later learn that large sections were left unanswered. It was strange — I knew the content but whenever I took a test, my body seemed to betray me. In moments like this, all I had was a racing heart, shaking hands, sweating, a brain that that seemed to shut down and a crippling fear of failure.

Still, I graduated with a degree in biochemistry and a 3.78 GPA—a miracle in my eyes. I knew the material and could even teach my peers in the tutoring center, but every test felt like a battle I could barely survive. A small voice in my head began to say “maybe medicine isn’t for me” and I slowly believed this lie.

Do you believe in GOD? Do you believe in prophecy?

I had given up on medicine, I started looking for jobs at companies like Colgate, the FDA etc. But then, at a church conference, a preacher called me forward. He declared a prophecy that I had heard many times from several church leaders and even my own mother. He said the words "you are meant to be a doctor."

My faith stirred up in me once again and I decided to apply that cycle. When I got my interview from Meharry Medical College and saw its motto "Worship of God Through Service to Mankind" — I knew. This was it. This was the place.

On my first day of medical school, I prayed a prayer — "Lord, if I am to do this, let me never struggle with exams. Let me pass everything without any issues."

I still faced the same test-taking challenges; however, the Lord preserved me each time. Throughout my medical school journey, I took 22 NBME exams and passed 21 on the first attempt. The only test that I failed was Family medicine, the very speciality I initially wanted to go into upon graduation. During that four week rotation, I was being evicted from my home and found myself moving furniture instead of studying the day prior to the test. I failed — but on the retake, my score jumped by 15 points. Nothing short of God's grace and mercy.

My medical journey wasn't only made up of battles. God opened doors I never imagined:

research at Stanford, I rotated at a Harvard hospital, I represented my classmates at the AAMC for 3+ years, I participated in the creation of a student TA program and became the first TA for a course called the Social Foundation of Medicine, I worked closely with several faculty at Meharry — including my mentor Dr. Caldwell, I built connections with some of the most brilliant leaders in the field of medicine and so much more.

I tried on my white coat for the first time

All these accomplishments I listed are just the tip of what God did for me during my time at Meharry.

My medical journey wasn’t a 'walk in the park.' I faced many challenges — there was a reality where I wouldn't match. My residency application process was a turbulent time. Depression crept in. But I held on to God. He brought me to Meharry and clearly prospered my way. I had to believe that he who started the good work in my life would surely finish it.

And then—Match Day.

CONGRATULATIONS, YOU HAVE MATCHED!

On March 21st, I was privileged to serve as acting-chaplain for my class during our Match Day ceremony. Months earlier during my interview season, I went into fasting and prayer, feeling like I might not be able to participate at the match day ceremony due to lack of matching. During this time, I received the call to step in as chaplain for the ceremony. Receiving the role felt like a divine reassurance that I will be there on the 21st with good news — God came through.

As I sat on the stage next to Dr. Sonya Harris-Haywood (dean of the school of medicine), Dr. James E.K. Hildreth (the president of Meharry), Dr. Monique Duncan (Dean of student affairs) and Olatundun Ladele (our class president) — I felt shocked. The Lord honored me in such a profound way, to lead prayer for the ceremony. I stood before my peers and their families, the entire Meharry institution and led prayer at such a monumental time — Me? Only God can do such a thing.

When you believe in him, he takes you down paths you couldn't dream of.

I will be an Internal Medicine resident at Bayhealth Medical Center in Dover, Delaware —close to home and my loved ones. The Lord is intentional and makes no mistakes. His promises are true. I’m not going into medicine for myself. I will use this to worship him and express God’s love through the care I give to every patient I encounter.