The humble rise of one of Ghana’s Best Paediatricians

My medical training happened at the University of Ghana Medical School, now School of Medicine and Dentistry (SMD), Legon where I got my basic medical certificate. I undertook my housemanship training in Korle Bu Teaching Hospital and zoomed straight into Paediatric residency training and successfully became a paediatrician in 2007. I was appointed a Specialist by Korle Bu Teaching Hospital and a part-time Lecturer by SMD in 2007, a position I have held till date. I am also a faculty member of Accra College of Medicine, a private medical school in Accra. I undertook a Fellowship training in United Kingdom under the auspices of MTI(P), a collaborative training between Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health of Britain and West African College of Physicians. I am a consultant paediatrician with an interest in paediatric cardiology.

I do extend my consultancy services to some private clinics and hospitals purely on appointment basis. These include Akai House clinic in Cantonments, West African Rescue Association, a subsidiary of International SOS, Premierhealth service in Laterbiorkorshie, Lapaz Community Hospital in Lapaz and Medfocus international. I also subscribe to retainership arrangements with individuals on agreed monthly fees. I am a very diligent and dedicated person and takes seriously my job and contractual obligations. I am very meticulous and thorough with an astute medical acumen.

I belong to so many Associations and Societies. These include Ghana Medical Association, Paediatric Society of Ghana and West African College of Physicians. I have held various leadership positions including the Greater Accra Chairmanship of Ghana Medical Association, Secretary of the Greater Accra Branch of Paediatric Society of Ghana and spokesperson of Junior Doctors Association. I have served on so many Boards and Committees including the Public lecture committee of Ghana Medical Association, Regional Prisons Council for Greater Accra and Country Coordinating Mechanism of the Global Fund

Currently, I am a member of the Greater Accra Divisional Executives of the Ghana Medical Association, interim Chairman of Korle Bu Doctors Association and a director of the Ghana Medical Association Fund and a member of the Technical Committee for adoptions in Ghana.

I am an avid writer, a columnist in a local newspaper and a blogger. I have done so many presentations as a resource person both in Ghana and abroad. My hobbies include lawn tennis, scrabble and football. I am a staunch supporter of Liverpool FC.

Paediatrics, to me is the most difficult specialty in medical practice. It involves the ability to get a medical diagnosis from people who may speak little or nothing at all, people who may continue their usual routine until their last breath is exhausted. It is the field of medicine which needs to be individualized even with the same condition. However, it is the field of medicine where job satisfaction is assured. Although financially unrewarding compared to other specialties in medicine, the joy of helping a child who arrives in coma but walks home with no brain deficits is beyond measure.

Paediatrics involves sharpening one’s communication skills. To be able to get an accurate history from parents who may have their own theory as to what might have caused the problem requires a skill. To be able to navigate parental biases and prejudices to arrive at what is relevant requires meticulousness and patience. And to be able to navigate yourself through cultural taboos and traditional dictates requires extreme patience. And sometimes be able to unravel attempts to shield people in cases of non-accidental injury and child abuse of the various forms requires the mind of a detective.

Paediatrics is one of the most difficult branches of medicine in that everything would have to be factored in according to the age and weight of the child. This underscores the need to be sharp and up to date on current modalities of treatment. These difficulties notwithstanding, Paediatrics is one of the poorest subspecialties. It is unusual to dip one’s hands deep into the pocket to save a dying child. It is also one of the specialties where appreciation for work done is difficult to come by.

I would chose paediatrics again if I’m given the chance.