Ifeoma Nneka Emelurumonye

Medical Director, Turin

«If I had had a greater presence of black people during my university career it would have been a much different path».

What is the most satisfying part of your job?

Helping others. I know it's a bit of a cliché and antiquated, but in the end the doctor's work is based on this and we even take an oath !! But until I graduated and started working I didn't understand it. Only later, when the patients I had visited or assisted or people I worked with would say a simple "thank you" to me and my heart would fill with happiness.

What has been the hardest part of your career so far?

Keeping up with science. Every day, every hour and every minute we have new discoveries in science and medicine. And this may put me in difficulty because not being updated on a new drug, procedure or disease may not make me feel safe in the choices I make. So I always try to keep up to date, study and read in order to offer the best to people.

What would say to your 13 year old self ?

To choose for yourself and not for others. I have always suffered a little from being the only child of immigrant parents on whom hopes and ambitions have weighed on for several years. Surely all of this has made me a very strong person and I can never thank my family and my parents in particular enough. But at the same time I wanted to reassure myself of many years ago that "everything I choose to do in the future will concern me and me alone, and not to be afraid because when I give my best, everything will be fine".

What changes do you hope to see in your sector in Italy in the next 5-10 years?

I hope to see more health workers hired and more black health workers. Whenever I meet the eyes of another black person in the hospital, our eyes always express joy and pride. This is probably because this person and I, in addition to having the same skin color, probably have similar experiences, similar difficulties, common cultural and social backgrounds. Studying at university is not just a matter of lessons and books, but it is also a matter of interrelationships. If I had had a greater presence of black people during my university career it would have been a different path. And I think everything I have just said can also be translated for other ethnic groups. I am only now enjoying being able to compare myself with a black community in the health sector and this has extended my way of thinking by opening up new points of view. I hope for future health professionals to already be able to study and work in this type of broader cultural context, both for richness and for inner and professional growth.