Juliet Sekabunga Nalwanga

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Juliet Sekabunga Nalwanga
Born
Uganda
NationalityUgandan
CitizenshipUganda
Education Mbarara University
(Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery)
(Master of Medicine in Surgery)
Makerere University
(Residency Program in Neurosurgery)
University of Toronto
(Fellowship in Pediatric Neurosurgery)
Occupation Pediatric Neurosurgeon
Years active2019–present

Juliet Sekabunga Nalwanga is a physician from Uganda, who is the country's first female neurosurgeon. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] As of 2021 she was one of only thirteen neurosurgeons in Uganda. [7] As of 2018 she was employed by Mulago National Referral Hospital in Kampala. [1] [8]

Contents

Background and education

She is Ugandan by birth. Her father is the late Professor Sekabunga, a well-known pediatric surgeon, who practiced at Mulago National Referral Hospital in the 1970s and 1980s. She also had a maternal aunt who was a physician. She credits that aunt for paying her school fees and being the inspiration to pursue medicine as a career. [9]

She went on to study medicine at Mbarara University, followed by internships at the same institution, and at Lira Regional Referral Hospital. [1] She returned to Mbarara University to pursue a Master of Medicine degree in Surgery, the first woman to do so. [9] She was then admitted to Makerere University to pursue a neurosurgical residency at Mulago National Referral Hospital, graduating in 2018. She then spent a year specialising in paediatric neurosurgery at The Hospital for Sick Children, the teaching hospital of the University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine, in Toronto, Canada. [3] One of her Ugandan mentors was the late John Baptist Mukasa (1967 - 2021). [7] [10]

Career

Following the completion of her neurosurgery fellowship in Toronto, Canada, she returned to Uganda and took up employment at Mulago National Referral Hospital as a consultant pediatric neurosurgeon and as an assistant lecturer in neurosurgery at Makerere University School of Medicine. She has also held teaching positions at Mbarara University School of Medicine. As of February 2023, Nalwanga was a member of the faculty at Uganda Christian University School of Medicine. [11] [12]

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "Nalwanga Juliet Sekabunga" . The Lancet Neurology. 17 (6): 505. 1 June 2018. doi:10.1016/S1474-4422(18)30152-2. ISSN   1474-4422. PMID   29778362. S2CID   29163841.
  2. ↑ Kizito, Francis (12 September 2018). "Uganda's first female neurosurgeon is Dr. Nalwanga Juliet Sekabunga". MBU. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  3. 1 2 "Global Neurosurgery Twinning: Duke Global Neurosurgery and Neurology's experience in Uganda | WFNS". www.wfns.org. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  4. ↑ Karekezi, Claire; Thango, Nqobile; Aliu-Ibrahim, Salamat Ahuoiza; Bechri, Hajar; Broalet, Espérance Maman You; Bougrine, Mouna; Cheserem, Jebet Beverly; Mbaye, Maguette; Shabhay, Zarina Ali; Tighilt, Nabila; Bakhti, Souad; Abbadi, Najia El (1 March 2021). "History of African women in neurosurgery". Neurosurgical Focus. 50 (3): E15. doi: 10.3171/2020.12.FOCUS20905 . ISSN   1092-0684. PMID   33789234. S2CID   232482962.
  5. ↑ Bryant, Jean-Paul; Nwokoye, Diana I.; Cox, MaKayla F.; Mbabuike, Nnenna S. (1 March 2021). "The progression of diversity: Black women in neurosurgery". Neurosurgical Focus. 50 (3): E9. doi: 10.3171/2020.12.FOCUS20945 . ISSN   1092-0684. PMID   33789225. S2CID   232481286.
  6. ↑ "DGHI's Michael Haglund Recognized for Global Neurosurgery Achievements". Duke Global Health Institute. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  7. 1 2 "'A great blow to Uganda': surgeon John Baptist Mukasa dies of Covid". The Guardian. 9 August 2021. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  8. ↑ "List Of Neurosurgeons in Uganda". 2022/2023. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  9. 1 2 Theresa Williamson, MD (28 January 2018). "Two Firsts for Black Women in Neurosurgery". Opmed.doximity.com. United States. Retrieved 3 October 2022.
  10. ↑ Adela Wu (7 July 2021). "Pandemic Loss: Pioneering Ugandan Neurosurgeon Was A 'Servant Of The People'". Washington, D.C., United States: NPR . Retrieved 3 October 2022.
  11. ↑ Pauline Luba (14 February 2023). "UCU student meets medical idol: "She is my hero"". The Standard (UCU). Mukono, Uganda. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
  12. ↑ Pauline Luba (30 March 2023). "Nalwanga: Uganda's first female neurosurgeon". Uganda Partners. Kampala, Uganda. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
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