Dr. Sister Mary Margaret Ajiko, Dr. Phyllis Kisa and Dr. Mary Nabukenya have been honoured with adjunct UBC faculty appointments in recognition of their tireless partnership, collaboration, and commitment to clinical and academic surgery. These three remarkable Ugandan women have not only continued to advance their training, they have made significant contributions to the learning of students, residents, and fellows both here in Canada and Uganda. Read the biographies of Drs. Ajiko, Kisa and Nabukenya below.
Dr. Sister Mary Margaret Ajiko joined Makerere University as a government-sponsored student and got her first degree in October 2000, where Sister Margaret went on to do medical training, with an internship at St. Joseph’s Hospital Nsambia-Kampala. She then worked as Medical Superintendent at Kitovu Hospital in Masaka, and then completed her MSc in Surgery at Makerere University. Dr. Sister Margaret Ajiko was posted again at Kitovu Hospital in Masaka. She was actively involved in teaching medical students, became an Executive member of the Association of Surgeons of Uganda, and served as Assistant Editor. Today, Dr. Ajiko serves in a rural setting as a Consultant Surgeon at Soroti Regional Referral Hospital as a general surgeon often caring for patients presenting with a breadth of surgical conditions across orthopaedic surgery, neurosurgery, plastic surgery, paediatric surgery, urology, and ENT. Sister Margaret performs her medical/surgical duties with joy, while advancing academics with medical students, interns and registrars. Dr. Ajiko has proudly supervised more than 25 summer students from UBC as part of the Soroti Children’s Project.
Dr. Phyllis Kisa completed medical school at Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda. She then worked as an intern doctor and as a medical officer (general doctor) in the surgical department at St. Mary’s Hospital Lacor, Uganda. Following this, she attained her MMED in General surgery from Makerere University and Fellowship in General Surgery of the College of Surgeons of East, Central and Southern Africa. Soon after, started a pediatric surgical fellowship training with the College of Surgeon of East Central and Southern Africa (COSECSA), a hybrid training with part in Uganda and 18 months (2014-mid-2015) at BC children’s hospital in Vancouver, Canada in pediatric general surgery and pediatric urology. She returned to BC Children’s hospital in 2018 to complete a formal clinical fellowship in pediatric urology becoming their first clinical fellow and the first fellowship trained pediatric urologist in Uganda. She is lecturer in pediatric surgery at Makerere University College of Health Sciences in Kampala, Uganda.
Dr. Mary T. Nabukenya is a Ugandan paediatric anaesthesiologist. She attended medical school at Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda, where she went on to do her Masters’ Degree training in Anaesthesiology and Critical Care. Shortly afterwards, she did her fellowship training in paediatric anaesthesia at BC Children’s Hospital, Vancouver, Canada in 2015. She returned to Uganda to continue working at the Mulago National Referral Hospital, which is also the teaching hospital for Makerere University. She is a lecturer in the Department of Anaesthesia, Makerere University College of Health Sciences. She has keen interest in advancement and capacity building in paediatric anaesthesia and critical care in Uganda and the East African region, as well as safe and quality anaesthesia practice for all. Dr. Nabukenya is involved in clinical research with her UBC colleagues on studies which serve to evaluate and advance safe anesthetic care for children.