BY JAMIU BUSARI (@JOBUSAR)
Joachim Kikomeko, MD, BSC, MSC, CBA (@kjoachim25)
Physician oncologist Spaarne Gasthuis (Hoofdorp and Haarlem), Netherlands – Guest Appointment: Amsterdam University medical Center and Uganda Cancer Institute. Co-Founder: Kikomeko for Kids Foundation (www.kikomeko.org). General Secretary: Afro-European Medical Research Network. Career advisor: Career Advancement Network (www.can256.nl). Founder: Uganda Netherlands Business Convention. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joachim-kikomeko-1a8ba260/
Dr. Joachim Kikomenko is a physician oncologist, currently working in the Spaarne Gaasthuis in Hoofddorp and Haarlem in the Netherlands. He was born and raised in a very small town called Bulenga in central Uganda. After the death of his father, Joachim was only 12 years old, and his mother could no longer pay his and his siblings school fees (three brothers and two sisters). As a result, he was forced to help raise funds by retailing goods on the market. Fortunately, thanks to financial help from Dutch volunteers, Joachim was able to return to school two years later to realize his dream of finally becoming a doctor.
In 2008, at the age of 25, Dr Kikomenko met and fell in love with a Dutch student (a primary school teacher by profession and his current wife and mother of our two children) and migrated to the Netherlands. Unfortunately, upon his arrival in the Netherlands, none of his prior educational qualifications were recognized, and he had to re-apply to be able to enter the Dutch higher education system. Luckily enough, he was accepted to enroll in the medical program of the VU University in Amsterdam in 2008 (graduating with a master’s degree in 2015). Parallel to the medicine program, Joachim completed a bachelor’s degree in biomedical sciences and later enrolled for his internal medicine specialization in 2017 at Amsterdam University Medical Center. During his training, he says, “I worked in different hospitals in and around Amsterdam. To upgrade my management and leadership skills, I recently completed the Clinical Business Administration program of TIAS School of Business”. Through a collaboration program between Amsterdam University Medical Center and the Uganda Cancer Institute (UCI), Dr Kikomenko combines his practice as a medical oncologist in the Netherlands with different healthcare projects in Uganda.
Pay it forward
In his words, Joachim said, “Without the help of Dutch volunteers, there was no way I could have managed to realize my dream. Under the motto ‘Pay it Forward,’ I helped several children in Uganda pay their school fees in the past years.” Touched by this story, his colleagues Nicolien de Clercq and Robert Jan Kwakwam were able to convince him to involve more donors in this project. This was how Kikomeko for Kids was born in 2022. Due to the enormous success, Joachim has managed to provide 35 full scholarships in the first year of the project’s existence. www.kikomeko.rog.
Keeping busy
Dr Kikomenko keeps busy with both his clinical practice and his (in)direct involvement in clinical trials that a number of his patients are currently enrolled and/or are being treated in. Even with all this, he still makes sure to have time to dedicate to his teaching activities, including supervising residents and clinical interns.
In 2021, Dr Kikomenko was nominated by the medical students of VU University for his excellence in teaching and awarded the Jan Heijlmanprijs 2021 award.
Diversity is the key
Dr. Kikomenko enjoys combining his work as a doctor and educator with different community-based initiatives. He is a general secretary for the Afro-European Medical and Research Network and a member of different, mostly African community initiatives. He loves giving career guidance to the younger generations, mostly from minority communities (www.can256.nl)”. With the different experiences he encounters in the process, Joachim finds it very important to advocate for diversity and meaningful inclusion among the healthcare workers from bottom to top because he believes that this is in everyone’s best interest.
Never let fear stop you
When asked if he often experiences difficulties due to the diversity of focus in his work, Joachim said, “I find several challenges in my daily activities of combining diverse work, but I try not to let fear or insecurity stop me from trying out new things”. It is always good and important to manage your time effectively, he says, and when things get tough, I take time off to reflect on my goals and, where needed, readjust them. “I love what I am doing, and that makes life simpler,” he concludes with a smile.
Three tips for junior CEs:
- Strong people don’t push other’s down, they lift them up. Try to help someone else every time you can.
- Choose your battles wisely and remember you can’t win by giving up. Be assured there will be hard times, but it pays to persist.
- Follow your own path, don’t try to be someone else, we are all different and that is what makes us stronger as a team.
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