MOHAMOUD, Prof Gulnaz

Kenya - Africa Five Star Doctor 2023

Consultant Family Medicine Physician, Faculty.
Department of Family Medicine, Aga Khan University, Nairobi, Kenya.
Department of Family Medicine and Primary Care, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town.

Briefly tell us about yourself.

I am Professor Gulnaz Mohamoud, a Consultant Family Medicine Physician and Associate Professor Extraordinary with over 35 years of experience. I am based at the Department of Family Medicine at the Aga Khan University Nairobi and affiliated with the Division of Family Medicine and Primary Care of Stellenbosch University in South Africa. I balance my time and experience between primary care practice and faculty responsibilities, including teaching, dissertation supervision, chairing the Departmental Research Committee, and being an examiner for the Master’s degree program (MPhil) and the Doctoral students.

I am also a member of the governing body of the Kenya Association of Family Physicians and the East Central and Southern Africa-College of Family Physicians. Over the years, I have fondly earned the title of “Mama Gulnaz” by my dear residents and younger colleagues. I am a wife to a supportive and loving husband and mum to three adult children and a daughter-in-law (all doctors themselves).

Tell us about your childhood.

I was born and raised in the beautiful city of Karachi in Pakistan, where Aga Khan University (AKU) was also born. I completed my junior and high school in a Christian faith-based school in Karachi and went on to pursue my Undergraduate Medical education at the Dow University of Health Sciences, graduating in 1987. The aspect of my mother being a doctor exposed me to the profession, which led to myself and my two brothers all following her footsteps. Since she was born and brought up in Uganda, my interest in Africa was sparked very early in life. My father, the engineer, supported these choices even though he knew of the challenges expected in medical school.

Upon completion of my undergraduate education in medicine and the regulatory year of internship, I worked at AKU Karachi in the newly formed Community Health Centre (now Family Medicine). All these life experiences instilled in me the concept of multiculturalism and pluralism.

Tell us about your career path.

I moved to Kenya in 1990 and initially settled in the enchanting “tea town” of Kericho. Ironically, I do not drink tea! I started by volunteering at the Kericho District Hospital, which provided me with invaluable orientation to Africa, the language, and the systems in primary care. A few years later, I moved to Nairobi permanently, which opened opportunities to advance academically as well as serve the community in Shauri Moyo, home to urban and peri-urban communities in Nairobi. I tried my hand at entrepreneurship by opening a clinic on Jogoo Road in Nairobi, and it exceeded my expectations. It was a great privilege and a humbling experience to serve this community for over 25 years, where I was pleasantly known as “Mohamoud of Jogoo Road”. This is where my blessings started.

I had wanted to pursue my master's in Family Medicine as I always felt that it offered the breadth of primary care focused on the family and community as a whole. It was an uphill task given that, at that time, there was no family medicine program available in East Africa. Years down the line, in 2005, Stellenbosch University in South Africa provided me with this opportunity. The Aga Khan University supported and encouraged this move with the vision of the growth and development of family medicine in Kenya. As I studied, I fell in love with the speciality, always aiming to provide the key elements of high-quality primary care. In addition, I obtained accreditations in HIV/TB/STD, Geriatrics Rehabilitation in Family Medicine, Clinical Ethics, Counselling skills, and Ultrasonography.

Through the support and confidence of the leadership at AKU and with hard work and perseverance balancing work, studies, and family life, I became the first female Family Physician in East Africa! Prof Bob Mash at Stellenbosch University encouraged me to go further, and I became the first PhD holder in Family Medicine in Eastern Africa in 2021. It is my joy and pride that I could do it despite the challenges of being a full-time practicing physician and with family commitments. It was a difficult yet exhilarating experience. My PhD thesis was a first-ever effort aimed to measure and assess the key indicators of high-quality service provision in primary care in the private sector in Kenya. The endeavour created a collaboration among all Kenyan Universities offering Family Medicine, leading to the adaptation of the first Kenyan version of the Primary Care Assessment Tool (KE-PCAT) for the measurement of primary care performance in Kenya.

This novel research interest has resulted in local, regional, and international presentations, several published and ongoing research initiatives, book reviews, and peer reviewer roles for several international journals. These contributions were recognized by being nominated for the 2022 Aga Khan University Awards of Distinction for Excellence in Research and receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award in Academics.

I was thrilled to be named “The 5-Star Doctor” for Excellence in Healthcare by the World Organization of Family Doctors (WONCA) Africa in 2023. The award was presented at the WONCA Africa conference in June 2024.

I believe humility and being grateful for the support you get in your life’s journey is not a weakness; indeed, it is a strength.

What is your leadership/teaching style? 

I consider leadership to be a collaborative effort. I prefer to lead with eclecticism and flexibility whilst assertively making my point based on the background of the situation. I practice experiential leadership that unilaterally creates an environment that inspires and extracts confidence within the team. Allowing and encouraging opinions to be freely expressed without fear of intimidation or reprisal not only promotes growth but instills values of mutual respect and a sense of camaraderie. One has to keep in mind that I too was a student once, and these students too will evolve into future leaders where we will work together hand-in-hand. I strongly feel that theory, sound judgment, and experience run parallel, and this is my ethos that guides me when teaching, leading, and making decisions.

I prefer the face-to-face teaching approach to achieve a more personalized interaction with learners. An experiential model facilitates confidence and personal responsibility, and it is also fun. However, technology has several advantages today as it enables a lot of flexibility in learning and teaching, though one lacks that personal touch at times. I prefer direct feedback to help my students achieve personal and developmental growth. As a teacher, I always remember that I remain a learner all my life.

I strive to make a positive impact on my students, colleagues, peers, and leaders. I employ an experiential and evidence-based technique, always using examples to inculcate the need for a patient-centered approach to the practice of medicine to see patients as individuals and not diseases.

A lot of collaborative teamwork has gone into the development and acceptance of family medicine as a specialty in Kenya and outside the region. I am keen to carry forward the torch of family medicine to a future where preventive medicine and community-oriented primary care becomes the ethos of primary health care in the region.

What advice would you give to the youth in the field of medicine?

Medicine is a lifelong career that needs a culture of endless learning. It takes dedication, hard work, and perseverance. However, life is all about balance, and medicine should not define one as a person. Make time for your hobbies, your family, and yourself as these are the things that will keep you grounded. Keep in touch with your close friends as they are the people who will help you get through challenging times.

Work within the principles and values of humanity and ethics. Success is not only defined by the bank balance but is a totality of the blessings you receive.

Lastly, never ever stop believing in yourself. It is not about how many times one falls but how you pick yourself back up that makes the difference between success or failure. As Sufi Rumi said, “You have wings; learn to use them and fly.”

What challenges have you encountered in your career journey?

I started my journey in academics with the completion of a Masters in Family Medicine in 2009 from Stellenbosch University in South Africa. This was in itself an uphill task given that there was no program available in East Africa at that time, making supervision difficult. There were no benchmarks to compare with, and this meant breaking glass ceilings in uncharted territory.

Being a mother and a full-time practicing physician working in different areas around Nairobi, where commute can take hours, and having children that were still in school resulted in sacrifices by all. Work-life balance took on different meanings where taking family trips meant that time in the car was spent reading articles or typing essays. Every day of the week had an achievement task to be completed. These were rather difficult times, but every milestone completed was a source of motivation and inspiration.

These challenges were overcome with grit and determination, family support, and conscious time management. The idea was to “keep going” and being aware that the time on hand was not mine to waste.

What are the key principles that have guided you throughout your career in family medicine?

A clear vision, stubborn determination, resolve, inner strength, and faith in myself.

What do you do for fun?

I prefer to spend my little free time watching “Netflix”, taking walks in the Karura forest, and enjoying coffee shops. I absolutely love the game parks and the calming effect of nature, the wild animals, and the heavenly visits to the coast. These are the zen moments that allow me to bounce back with enthusiasm and vigour.

The COVID pandemic taught me that life is indeed short and unpredictable, and we should live each day to the full. A poet once said, “Life is but of two days; one has gone, one remains.”

What keeps you awake at night?

It is always “what I have forgotten to enter in the ‘To Do List’?” Age is catching up fast, and there are moments when the brain says do one thing, and the body says, “Who? Me?” Sometimes I think faster than it is possible for action to take place, and this becomes my “Insomniac pill.” Balancing work and life becomes my “sleeping pill,” which is very expensive!

My husband says, “they have yet to create a computer that can keep up with you!”

Watch: Interview with Prof Gulnaz Mohamoud