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.