By Jamiu Busari (@jobusar)
Anthonio Adefuye
Senior Lecturer: Division Health Sciences Education
Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Free State
Republic of South Africa
Anthonio Adefuye MBCHB, MSc, PhD (Med.), Cert. (Med. Ed) AFAMEE is a senior lecturer at the Division Health Sciences Education University of the Free State South Africa where he is the module leader for leadership and management in health professions education, co-module leader for research in health profession education and the coordinator of the Masters in Health Professions Education Programme of the Division. Dr Adefuye is also involved in training newly appointed staff within the Faculty of Health Sciences University of the Free State on aspects of medical education and conducting research in molecular biology, family medicine and medical education. Additionally, he is a part time senior lecturer at the Faculty of Health Sciences Central University of Technology, Bloemfontein Free State, where he teaches basic medical sciences (Human Anatomy, Physiology and Pathophysiology) as an integrated module.
Anthonio is very active in the medical community: he is an associate fellow of the Association for Medical Education in Europe (AMEE), as well as a registered member of: the Health Professions Council of South Africa; Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria; South African Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; South African Society for Microbiology; International Network for Health Workforce Education, and the South African Association of Health Educationalist (SAAHE). Anthonio has published in both national and international peer reviewed journals in the domains of molecular biology/immunology, family medicine and medical education.
Shaping a career in medical education
After earning his medical degree (MBChB) from Olabisi Onabanjo University, Dr Adefuye obtained a Master of Science degree in Microbiology from the University of Fort Hare, followed by a PhD (Med.) in Clinical Biochemistry from the University of Cape Town South Africa.
Anthonio thoughtfully reflected how his career has been shaped to date, saying, “The thought of how the textbooks I read during my undergraduate medical training came into existence, who wrote them and how did they get such information intrigued my young mind throughout my undergraduate days”. He continues, “It was not long after that I discovered that the answer to these questions was through ‘research’ i.e. that these textbooks and the information therein came to existence through several years of medical research and the authors of these books were researchers (physician-scientists)”. Anthonio said he was particularly interested in contributing to this pool of knowledge and was excited when his first opportunity into biomedical research presented itself during his Masters degree program at the University of Fort Hare in South Africa. This marked the beginning of his career as a physician-scientist.
Dr Adefuye’s interest in medical education peaked after his PhD program exposed him to the principles and practice of medical education during his preparation for a job interview. “I quickly developed an interest in contributing to the medical education on the African continent”, he says. “I can also say that being a physician-scientist and a medical educationalist are the academic fields I am passionate about and being able to combine these two portfolio in my present job gives me great pleasure.” Anthonio expressed to us how pleased he is to be able to contribute to a new era of medicine/medical practice while playing a critical role in the training of the next generation of health professionals on the African continent.
“A a full-fledged Med Ed academic”
Dr Adefuye’s job within the Division Health Sciences Education at the University of the Free State falls strictly under three domains: educational research, teaching and learning, and administrative support. As his activities do not include a clinical appointment, he shares, “it is safe to say I am a full-fledged Med Ed academic”. The bulk of his time (approximately 60 per cent) is spent on educational research – that is, undergraduate/postgraduate health professions education and molecular biology; while another 30 per cent is spent on teaching. He devotes the remaining 10 per cent to administrative work that includes training and supervising newly appointed academic staff on aspect of medical education.
When asked how he juggles his day to day work, Anthonio states his main difficulty is effectively managing his time. He often finds his his ‘official’ daily work hours are never sufficient to catch-up on all that he needs to accomplish. He credits making a list of “things to do” on sticky note pads for helping him adequately manage his time. He creates these lists daily, arranging them in order of importance/urgency. As his workload often impinges on family and recreation time, he finds occasionally working extra hours has been the only way to buy time to attend to family and friends. He quotes the popular adage, “’Time waits for no (wo)man’ – no one is powerful enough to stop the march of time or even slow it down.”
Three tips for junior CEs: be a leader, exude dedication and diligence, put in the effort.
- Endeavor to lead the change you want to see around you.
- Hard work, diligence, dedication and prayer remain the crux of success
- Always bear in mind that your minute effort may be what is required for a desired transformation. So, put in your best in all you do, all the time.
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The views and opinions expressed in this post are those of the interviewee and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. For more details on our site disclaimers, please see our ‘About’ page
