I sacrificed my dream of becoming a maxillofacial surgeon for politics – Ekua Amoakoh

Spokesperson for NPP Flagbearer Dr Mahamudu Bawumia and the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) Health Committee, Dr Ekua Amoakoh, says her involvement in politics cost her the opportunity to pursue a long-held ambition of becoming a maxillofacial surgeon.

The medical doctor said she had hoped to specialise in head and neck surgery but had to give up some career opportunities when her political work began earlier than she had anticipated.

Speaking in a personality profile interview on JoyNews’ PM Express with Emefa Adeti, Dr Amoakoh said she did not consider the missed opportunity a personal loss, describing it instead as a sacrifice.

“No, maybe some job opportunities, yes. So some job opportunities I could not take. I had to make a decision. But for me, I don’t really see it as a loss. I think they are sacrifices,” she said.

Dr Amoakoh said her interest in maxillofacial surgery began during her first year in medical school and continued during her clinical work at Ridge Hospital.

She described the specialty as a niche field and said she had spent a year at the hospital working towards that path.

“That’s what I was doing at Ridge for the whole year. It’s very niche. So that’s what I was doing, and I think I was very interested in it, and I knew even from my first year in medical school that’s exactly what I wanted to do,” she said.

She recalled enjoying her work as a house officer and believing she had the ability to build a career in the field.

“I enjoyed that. So I feel like if I’ve lost anything, it’s probably my ability to become a specialist in that field,” she said.

One of her ambitions was to treat children born with cleft palates, a condition that can require specialised surgical care.

“I always thought I would end up being one of those nice cleft doctors, you know, fixing kids’ clefts. I always thought I would be a good doctor,” she said.

Dr Amoakoh said she had expected to complete more of her medical career before becoming deeply involved in politics.

“If anything, maybe that has been the highest price I’ve had to pay, because I always thought I would be able to get to the end of that before I started. But politics kicked off for me earlier than I expected,” she said.

Her comments suggest that the timing of her political involvement, rather than a loss of interest in medicine, was central to the career decision.

Asked whether she now loved politics more than medicine, Dr Amoakoh answered in the affirmative, saying political work came naturally to her.

“Yes, yes, yes. It comes to me naturally, and I don’t find it really difficult. You know, they say that you find something that you’re good at or something that you love, and you don’t feel like you’re working,” she said.

She acknowledged that her schedule had become more demanding but said she remained engaged by the work she was doing.

“My schedule has gotten way crazier. But it’s not too much for me because I’m doing things I find interesting. The reading that I’m doing is reading that I would have done anyway,” she said.

She made the remarks during her personality profile interview on JoyNews’ PM Express with Emefa Adeti.