Ogho Obakponovwe
Senior
KSS
It has been my privilege to help patients in need and to work alongside many talented medical doctors and surgeons in the process. However, upon reflecting on my journey to becoming a consultant, I am acutely aware of the lack of diversity amongst my peers. I hope initiatives like this can help instigate a lasting change.
Black doctors make up a significant amount of the junior doctor workforce, but are less visible in training posts and rarely seen as consultants. We are also underrepresented as Royal College examiners and at national interview panels.
As a trainee, I too struggled to find a black/BAME mentor. I choose to be the change I wanted to see and began mentoring young BAME doctors. I continue to do this as a consultant; encouraging, guiding and inspiring the next generation of surgeons.
As a BOA culture and diversity champion I can help to carve out diversity focused strategies. I would establish reverse mentoring programmes and highlight opportunities to be represented in key positions. I would hope to negate the diversity bottle neck at the top of our profession, allowing the multicultural and diverse society that we celebrate to be represented in our esteemed profession.
