Continuing our ‘Spotlight on...’ series, ReConnect Africa spoke to Dr. Vincent Agyapong about a career in Psychiatry

ReConnect Africa (RCA):   Can you tell us about yourself and your background?

Dr Vincent Agyapong:   I was born in Koforidua in the Eastern Region of Ghana to parents who very much cherished and invested in our education. I was the second child and the only son of five siblings. I also have four half-sisters and a half-brother. I am married to beautiful Belinda and we are blessed with three lovely children; Gerald who is 11, Nadine who is 9 and Felix who is 7.

RCA:   What did you study and what were your initial intentions for your career?

Dr Vincent Agyapong:   I attended Madona International School for my primary education and Pope John Secondary School for my secondary education. Both institutions are in Koforidua in the Eastern region of Ghana. I then proceeded to the School of Medical Science at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi, Ghana, where I completed a Bachelor of Science degree in Human Biology and also my undergraduate medical degree.

I completed my internship at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi where I undertook rotations in Pediatrics and Obstetrics and Gynecology.

I then travelled to Europe but with plans initially to pursue postgraduate studies in International Public Health in the United States of America, where I had secured admission at Tulane University. However, I did not secure the expected funding to be able to undertake this programme of study, so ended up remaining in Europe where I completed both basic and higher specialist training in General Adult and Academic Psychiatry in Dublin, Ireland.

In addition, I completed a research doctorate in psychiatry and postgraduate certifications in forensic medicine, statistics and health services management and I am currently completing a PhD in Global Health at the Centre for Global Health, Trinity College, University of Dublin. 

RCA:   What were the key influences in your choice of career?

Dr Vincent Agyapong:   I entered both the medical profession and the mental health profession somewhat unwillingly. I was forced by my father to read biology for my A-Levels rather than Mathematics, which was my preference. I wanted to study engineering, while he wanted me to read medicine, so I had to give up my ambition to do what my father thought was right for me. 

Again, after failing to secure a scholarship to pursue postgraduate studies in International Health, I decided to work in any specialty in Europe for a year or two to accrue enough funds so that I could go to Tulane University.  I settled on Psychiatry because it was easier to get a job in this specialty as an international medical graduate. However, after working in psychiatry for one month, I became convinced that it was fulfilling to work in this specialty and so I made the decision to focus on making the best out of the opportunities that working as a trainee psychiatrist presented.

RCA:   What would you say have been the highlights of your career to date?

Dr Vincent Agyapong:   I was the first Senior Registrar in Psychiatry ever to be appointed to St Patrick’s University Hospital, the largest tertiary referral center for mental health patients in the Republic of Ireland, and probably the oldest independent mental health hospital in Europe.

In addition to being a Senior Registrar at St Patrick’s University Hospital from 2009 to 2011, I served as a Clinical Lecturer at the Department of Psychiatry in the School of Medicine, University of Dublin. I was privileged to have worked with many supportive mentors including Professor Declan McLaughlin, Professor James Lucey, Dr Connor Farren and Professor Michael Gill. I was promoted to Clinical Senior Lecturer in 2012.

During my training, I engaged in active service development and patient centered research and other clinical governance activities which have so far led to about forty publications in national and international peer reviewed journals.

I have also made about twenty-six national and international conference presentations, including at the World Psychiatric Association International Congress, the European Congress of Psychiatry, the annual conference of the College of Psychiatrists of Ireland and the Royal College of Psychiatrist Congress of the Faculty of Addictions.

In addition, I frequently review journal articles for international journals, including the Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology, the International Journal of Psychiatry in Clinical Practice, the Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine, the Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, Journal of Research in Peace, Gender and Development and I serve on the editorial board of the Journal of Hospital Administration.

I have been a visiting scholar to the School of Medical Sciences at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi since 2009 and have been going to Ghana to teach medical students annually at no cost to the university.

As part of my ongoing commitment to psychiatric education in Ghana, I established the annual inter-medical school public speaking competition in 2010 to promote psychiatry as a fulfilling career option for Ghanaian medical students. This programme has ongoing sponsorship from St Patrick’s University Hospital and St John of God Development Company in Dublin. So far, through this programme, 8 Ghanaian medical students have undertaken four weeks each of sponsored elective placements at the two world-renowned mental health hospitals in Dublin.

I have won several academic and social awards including Best NCHD Research Prize from the College of Psychiatrists of Ireland, the Henry Hutchinson Scholarship from the University of Dublin and the Outstanding Innovation in Health Award from the Royal Power Magazine. In September 2011, I was named by the Royal Power Magazine as one of the top ten most influential Africans living in Ireland.

Against all the odds, I attended a competitive interview for a permanent consultant post in Ireland and was recommended for appointment, having placed first at the interview ahead of a dozen other applicants most of whom were indigenous Irish citizens. However, by divine providence, I was simultaneously offered and accepted a position in Canada as a psychiatrist with the Northern Lights Regional Centre in Fort McMurray and as an Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry with the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Alberta in Edmonton.  I moved to Canada with my family to assume these positions in August 2013

RCA:   Where did you train and what technical skills do you need in order to do what you are doing?

Dr Vincent Agyapong:   I first enrolled on the Royal College of Surgeons Rotational Training scheme in Psychiatry in July 2005. I worked in various hospitals in Dunlin as part of the basic specialist training, including St Brendan’s Hospital, St Vincent’s University Hospital, Connolly Hospital and Beaumont Hospital. I obtained Membership of the Royal College of Psychiatrist in three years and proceeded to complete my higher specialist training at St Patrick’s University Hospital and Connolly Hospital.

As a psychiatrist, I am patient centered and recovery focused in my approach to the care of those with mental health difficulties. Everything I do as psychiatrist is therefore centered on how I can help the patient to recover and lead a productive life that will be beneficial to themselves, their families and to society at large.

As a researcher, I am interested in exploring and evaluating new cost effective preventative and treatment strategies and ensuring that they are evidence based and beneficial to my patients, their families and to society at large. As a teacher, I am interested in impacting knowledge to the next generation of doctors and allied health care professionals in a meaningful and practical way that stimulates their interest in the field of mental health.

RCA:   What have been your biggest challenges so far in your career?

Dr Vincent Agyapong:   The biggest challenge for my career so far was my recent decision to move to Canada from Ireland. With the support I received from many of my colleagues in Ireland over the years and the steady progress I was making, it was difficult to just leave it all for another foreign country.

I had always thought that if I were to leave Ireland, then I would be returning to Ghana. However, the opportunities that Canada presented were hard to resist, which have put back my plans to return to Ghana by a few years.

RCA:   How do you think your African heritage has impacted on what you do and how you are perceived?

Dr Vincent Agyapong:   As an African who grew up as part of a large family of 10 children, at an early age I learnt the skills needed to survive in a competitive world. This has helped me to aspire to succeed, no matter the environment in which I find myself.

Training in Ireland, my African heritage came with some challenges which I had to navigate. It also presented me with some opportunities as I was easily recognized and singled out from among my peers for my numerous contributions to the many hospitals I worked in Dublin. It has always been my aspiration to prove that given the same opportunities, the black African is capable of achieving excellence at the same level and rate as our European and North American counterparts and I am satisfied with the progress I made so far in this regard.

RCA:   What have been the biggest lessons for you along the way?

Dr Vincent Agyapong:   The biggest lesson for me has been that selfless hard work and trust in God always open opportunities for people. I believe I have been highly favored by God in most of the places I have worked in partly because I have availed myself of opportunities and have been selfless in my dealings with my superiors, work colleagues, patients and their relatives.

Certainly working hard to create opportunities for other people has opened opportunities for me without that being my original intention.

RCA:   What advice can you offer to others who would like to take the path you have chosen?

Dr Vincent Agyapong:   I will advise all African patriots in diaspora, regardless of their trade or profession, to consider making a contribution to the growth and development of the African continent. We should all let the continent’s problems be our problems, because we have all in one way or the other shared and benefited from its richness.

I will encourage my fellow Africans in diaspora to consider visiting the continent at least once annually and identify a specific project they can embark on that can better the lot of the continent.