Spokesperson for NPP Flagbearer Dr Mahamudu Bawumia and the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) Health Committee, Dr Ekua Amoakoh, has recounted how her parents’ insistence led her to study medicine, despite her initial interest in other pursuits.
In a personality profile interview on JoyNews’ PM Express with Emefa Adeti, she spoke about growing up at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi, resisting her parents’ career choice and eventually appreciating the value of her medical training.
Dr Amoakoh said her childhood was closely tied to Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, where her grandmother served as Director of Nursing.
She said her family lived in the hospital’s doctors’ flats when she was a baby, making the medical environment a familiar part of her upbringing.
“I grew up in a hospital. I grew up in Komfo Anokye. My grandmother was the director of nursing of Komfo Anokye when I was born. So we lived at the flats at the doctors’ flats when I was a baby,” she recounted.
She said the environment influenced her parents’ decision about her future career.
“That’s all I knew. So when I got to the time to decide what to do, quite frankly, I think that decision was made for me by my parents,” she said.
Despite growing up around medical professionals, Dr Amoakoh said she was initially reluctant to follow the same path.
She recalled resisting her parents’ decision even after entering medical school.
“Initially I kicked against it, or I fought them. Even in medical school, up until about third year, I said, ‘I don’t want to do this. I told you I didn’t want to do this,’” she said.
She also recalled sensing that her career had already been decided before she completed secondary school at Holy Child School.
She said her parents viewed medicine as a natural choice because of her upbringing and exposure to the profession.
Dr Amoakoh offered a glimpse into how her university application was handled, saying her mother completed the application form and presented it to her for her signature.
She recalled that she was still in Form Three when her mother arrived with the completed paperwork.
“My mom just turns up one day, and then she just brings me the paper to sign. She filled it all out and just brought it to me. All I had to do was sign,” she said.
She said she was unhappy at the time because she felt she had little say in the decision about her future.
Dr Amoakoh said her interests at the time differed from her parents’ expectations, explaining that she was attracted to wealth creation and the opportunities associated with business.
“I always liked the nicer things in life. That’s why I’m a typical capitalist. You will not find me doing anything socialist,” she said.
She argued that allowing people to pursue their creativity and create value was important for economic growth.
“I don’t actually see anything wrong with trying really hard to make some money. So I was always more attracted to that. And I was like, I grew up in the hospital. I’ve seen all these doctors. No, I want more money,” she recounted.
She said those interests contributed to disagreements with her parents over her choice of profession.
Although she initially opposed the decision, Dr Amoakoh said she has come to appreciate the experience of studying medicine.
She said the demands of medical training can help develop discipline, resilience and the ability to handle challenges, even for those who eventually pursue other careers.
“I’m glad they insisted because even if it’s not something you are going to practice or something you are going to use, that whole process of training, I think it can forge any person into a formidable person,” she said.
Dr Amoakoh also spoke about her family, revealing that she is the fourth of six children.
She said the family had five girls for a long time, with her younger sister Ama close to her in age.
“It was an army of girls, and I was number four, and my little sister Ama was five. We were very close in age. So we are almost twins—Irish twins, as she likes to call us. So we grew up very close together,” she said.
She added that the family later welcomed a sixth child, a boy.