Dr. Atanda Participates in MAHEC Shadow Program

Dr. Oluseyi Atanda visiting apple orchards in Western North Carolina.

Interview By Wallace Bohanan

Dr. Oluseyi Atanda, from Asheville’s Sister City of Osogbo, Nigeria, is currently participating in a Doctors Shadow Program sponsored by the Mountain Area Health Education Center. The connection with MAHEC was made possible through the efforts of Valeria Watson-Doost, chairperson of the Osogbo Sister Cities Committee.

Dr. Atanda, who specializes in Obstetrics and Gynecology, will be observing OB/GYN Resident Doctors and Attending Physicians for three months. Through the Shadow Program, Dr. Atanda will learn how physicians in Asheville diagnose and treat female patients with problems in their reproductive systems as well as care for those women who are pregnant. He follows the doctors on their rounds through various MAHEC clinics, through the Mission and St. Josephs campuses of Mission Hospitals, and also in the operating room.

The amount of technology at the disposal of doctors in Asheville has
impressed Dr. Atanda; Osogbo doctors must rely more on a hands-on
approach when dealing with patients, including having to learn and
remember information that is readily available to Asheville doctors via
easily accessible laptop computers.

Another difference he has noted is that, unlike in Osogbo, patients in
Asheville do not undress when being examined with a stethoscope. In
practicing the art of “Inspection, Palpation, Percussion &
Auscultation,” Dr. Atanda says it is a common practice for Nigerians to
remove their clothing and be draped and wear a gown when being examined
by a doctor.

Dr. Atanda wanted to be a physician since he was a child, and at the age
of twelve he became involved with traditional African medicine.

Once he
had learned the traditional way of healing, he was driven with a
passion to learn modern medicine and bring knowledge of traditional
healing to his practice. An important aspect of traditional practice is
the incorporation of spiritual medicine. Dr. Atanda believes that “God
must be invited in to cure.

“I cannot practice medicine without some level of spirituality,” he
says, adding that many hospitals and clinics in Osogbo have signs
reading, “We Care – God Cures.”

Dr. Atanda went to medical school directly from high school, attending
for ten years as one of the pioneering students who took part in the
Clinical Medical School Accreditation process. These extra years of
study prepared him to pass his medical exams the first time he took
them.

Today Dr. Atanda practices as a OB/GYN resident at the same Ladoke
Akintola University Teaching Hospital that he attended. As a fourth-year
and final-year resident he services patients, continues to be trained,
and trains student doctors, junior residents, and nurses. In the future,
Dr. Atanda plans on becoming an Attending Physician and returning to
the U.S. for a fellowship in a sub-specialty of OB/GYN. His sights are
currently set on reproductive medicine and infertility or the
specialized field of high-risk pregnancy.

When he returns to Osogbo, Dr. Atanda he will teach other doctors what
he has learned here. The Osogbo Committee of Asheville Sister Cities
hopes there will be an ongoing connection between doctors in both
cities.