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UFS trauma surgeon inducted as American College of Surgeons fellow

04 November 2024 | Story André Damons | Photo Supplied

Dr Emmanuel Arko-Cobbah, Senior Lecturer and Medical Specialist in the Department of Surgery at the University of the Fee State (UFS), says he hopes his induction as a fellow of the American College of Surgeons (ACS), will show the world that South Africa also produces great doctors from whom they can learn.

The ACS is dedicated to improving the care of the surgical patient and safeguarding standards of care in an optimal and ethical practice environment. Dr Arko-Cobbah was inducted on 19 October after a rigorous process. He was part of 1 800 candidates from around the world, but mostly from North America, with about 600 from other countries outside of the US and Canada.

Dr Arko-Cobbah, a trauma surgeon, says it feels surreal as it has always been his dream to become a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, although it often felt like an impossible dream. “I truly thank God, and I am very grateful, because to me, it feels like it's all part of His plans for me, that is why He is making these things possible for me.

“As a trauma surgeon, it makes me feel I have achieved even beyond our borders, and it gives me the opportunity to also share the knowledge we have locally with the rest of the world. We have a lot to offer, but we tend to get underestimated because of where we’re from,” says Dr Arko-Cobbah.

To become a fellow of the ACS, applicants go through a selection process after applying and then they need to be nominated by three different fellows of the American College who are in good standing. If their nominations get accepted, an interview follows whereafter the reports are reviewed by the committee which then decides the outcome.

South Africa produces great doctors

According to Dr Arko-Cobbah, he hopes to put the UFS on the map with this lifelong fellowship so that the world can know South Africa also produces great doctors and that they can learn from these doctors. “The other side of the coin is for me to inspire others to also aim to get into the American College, and to dream even bigger than this. If I could do this, then anybody can. Partner with God, and dream big dreams, and make big plans. That is what I was taught by Pastor At Boshoff since I was a student, and God has always been faithful.”

After qualifying as doctor and becoming a general surgeon at the UFS, and super specialised as a trauma surgeon, Dr Arko-Cobbah completed a Surgical Leadership Programme with Harvard University in Boston, in the US. “God has always been good to me, and I am forever grateful to the support of my wife and family and continued inspiration and mentorship from Prof André Loubser. I am grateful to the late Prof Theron, and the UFS Surgery Department, past and present, for always pushing me to be better.

News Archive

Ghanaian academic speaks about next generation of African scholars

2013-10-08

Attending the seminar were from left: Adv Erika Cilliers, Sisa Mlonyeni (both from the Office of the Public Protector), Prof Adomako Ampofo and Prof Heidi Hudson, Head of the Centre for Africa Studies.
Photo: Jerry Mokoroane
08 October 2013

Prof Akosua Adomako Ampofo, one of the Centre for Africa Studies’newly-appointed advisory board members, addressed students and staff on 3 October 2013. Her topic Are you the scholar Africa needs?enthralled the audience with the passionate way in which she argued for nurturing activist-scholars rather than scholars who simply produce knowledge for the sake of it. “It is more urgent than ever before that … we do not simply see our roles as researchers and teachers, but that we are committed to impacting our communities” for the better – also by “making our knowledge production globally visible,” she argued. Africa is said to contribute less than 0.5 percent of the world’s scientific publications. The fact that most of these – and nearly all of the social science production – emanate from just three nations (Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa) means that many countries are absent from the radar.

According to her, the next generation of African scholars will have to compete within a hostile terrain where private universities are proliferating and costs of higher education are on the rise. These scholars will have to possess 22nd century skills, but a 20th century heart and sensitivity for the continent and its people.

Drawing on Kwame Nkrumah, Prof Ampofo proposed three guiding principles for becoming the scholars Africa needs. Firstly, by having a passion for knowledge as well as an Africa-centred knowledge – “nobody can tell our stories better than we can.”. Secondly, to translate our research into outputs not only in the form of internationally-recognised publications, but also in popular sources that will be read by a much wider public. And lastly, to carrying the torch for teaching and learning in the classroom – preparing our students to serve Africa or, as Nkrumah said, producing “devoted men and women with imagination and ideas, who, by their life and actions, can inspire our people to look forward to a great future.”.

Akosua Adomako Ampofo is a Professor of African and Gender Studies, and Director of the Institute of African Studies at the University of Ghana, Legon. An activist-scholar, her current work addresses African knowledge systems; race, ethnicity and identity politics; gender-based expressions of violence; constructions of masculinities; women and work; and popular culture. She is currently co-editing a volume titled, Transatlantic Feminisms: Women and Gender in Africa and the African Diaspora.In 2010, she was awarded the Sociologists for Women in Society Feminist Activism Award.

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