When it comes to issues relating to sex and the mentioning of the sex organs, most people hardly venture into that area. This is because our culture makes such issues a taboo instead of total education for even a child to be assertive.
However, for 24-year-old Charles, describing the process of vaginal delivery right in the presence of his mother and his younger sister is just a normal thing. He mentions the sex organs without blinking an eye or looking away from his mother.
This act of bravery proves that Charles has, indeed, matured and is poised for action in his medical profession.
Dr Djugbah’s feat
At his recent graduation, Dr Charles Kadey Djugbah made history as the first person to have won the highest number of awards in the 40-year history of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) Medical School in Kumasi, Ashanti Region.
He ballooned as many as eight awards out of the 15 that were presented during the graduation.
They were the Ben Baffoe-Bonnie Prize for the Best Student in Child Health; the Prof. (Mrs) M. Frempong Prize for Best Student in Chemical Pathology; the Mrs Beatrice Biamah Wireko Brobby Prize for the Best Student in Otorhinolaryngology; the Edwin K. Wiredu Prize for the Best Student in Systemic Pathology’ the Addo Kufuor Prize for the Best Student in Internal Medicine; the J.G.A. Wood Prize for the Best All-round Student at the Final Part II MBChB Examination, and the Dean’s Prize for the Best Student in the MBChB Programme.
In all, 168 medical doctors were sworn in at the well-attended ceremony, which also marked the 40th anniversary of the Medical School which has trained a total of 2,280 doctors since its inception, while the Dental School has produced 42 dentists in its fourth year.
Who is Dr Djugbah?
The six-year medical career journey began on the KNUST campus in 2009 and ended with a three-year programme leading to the award of a degree in Human Biology.
For the practical aspect of the medical profession, he spent the mandatory three years at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) in Kumasi where he qualified for the Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery degrees (MBChB).
Medical interest
Although Dr Djugbah is yet to settle on a particular specialised area, he has a key interest in surgery.
“I love being in the theatre with some of my senior colleagues just to save lives. However, my major interest is in trauma and orthopaedic surgery,” he disclosed.
He explained that orthopedics or orthopedic service was the medical speciality that involved the treatment of the musculoskeletal system, which is made up of the body’s bones, joints, ligaments, tendons and muscles.
Examples of orthopedic sub-speciality training in developed countries such as the United States are hand surgery, shoulder and elbow surgery, total joint reconstruction (arthroplasty), pediatric orthopedics, foot and ankle surgery, spine surgery, musculoskeletal oncology, surgical sports medicine, orthopedic trauma and orthopedic oncology.
Delving into the nature of the surgeries, he stated that when it came to trauma, he and his superiors used various life-saving techniques to manage accident victims.
However, he was quick to add that patients meant for orthopedic surgery were not always victims of accidents.
“We correct developmental defects in bow-legged babies and do hip replacement for older people. In fact, I must admit fixing and reviving things is my passion,” he smiled.
Field Challenges
For Dr Djugbah, one of the beguiling cases he came across during his training at KATH was operating on the Siamese twins.
“It was quite intriguing, as the surgeon needs to have patience to perform the surgery,” he said.
Another challenging yet interesting area for him was observing how pediatric surgeons skillfully cut babies to fix their ailments.
“Cases like breach delivery and delivering of twins are equally very intriguing,” he added.
Dr Djugbah revealed that in line of duty, he had come across people with strange and unusual skin conditions that one might have read about and that heightened his level of curiosity.
Academic laurels
Interestingly, it looks like the young doctor has the number eight working for him. Apart from the eight awards he took at the medical school, he was born on September 8, 1990, had As in all the eight subjects he wrote at the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) and clocked eight awards from SHS One to Three at the St Peter’s Senior High School at Nkwatia, Eastern Region.
“The headmaster at the time rewarded excellent students every term and by God’s grace I received most of the Headmaster’s Golden Handshake Award,” he recalled.
Lucky number eight
According to astrologists, people with the lucky number eight have strong intuition and insight, so they have the potential to explore things undiscovered. In general, they are bestowed with a special gift of being in-born businessmen and can achieve all their plans step by step.
They are usually mild and honest to others. Their characteristics never lead them into arguing with other people or causing them to be depressed. Nevertheless, in order to avoid hurting people around them, they always hide their real emotions, whether they are sad or happy.
School path
Dr Djugbah, who will hit 25 years on Wednesday, September 8, started school at the May’s Educational Complex at South Odorkor, a suburb of Accra.
Given his strict Catholic background, his parents sent him to the Bishop Bower’s School, located at Latebiokoshie, also in Accra.
Having obtained 10 grade ones in the Basic Education Certificate Examination, he gained admission to St Peter’s where he offered Science.
Family/Interest
Dr Djugbah’s parents are Mr Harry Djugbah, a civil engineer, and Madam Mina Corquaye. Theirs is a small family, as Charles has only one sibling, Harriet, to whom he is very much attached.
It is believed that doctors hardly have time to spare. However, when Dr Djugbah is not in the theatre or the consulting room, he stays indoors to play FIFA play games just to unwind.
“It is not always true that we hardly have time to unwind. The nature of the profession is such that we are mostly on our toes. However, whenever there is less activity, I have fun with some of my colleagues,” he uttered.
