By Dr. Bonaventure Ahaisibwe
If anyone had told me fifteen years ago—fresh out of medical school in Uganda—that I’d one day be starting a U.S. emergency medicine (EM) residency at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., I would have laughed and gone back to revising for my MPH course work. Yet, here I am, rounding on trauma patients, deciphering EKGs, and juggling IV pumps like a seasoned pro (on a good day). My journey here has been anything but linear—and that, perhaps, is its richest blessing.
You see, I didn’t take the traditional highway into U.S. residency. Instead, I came in via the scenic route: a fifteen-year detour through public health, where I built a fulfilling career in global health administration, rising to a senior executive position at an international nonprofit. I navigated policies, programs, partnerships, and plenty of PowerPoint. But life, as it often does, had a few plot twists in store.
By Dr. E Chin Mak