The Light at the End of the Tunnel - My Final Year Has Begun

Written by Dr. Naomi Kafumbu, Physicians for Peace Surgery Scholar, Set to Graduate December 2025 (Malawi)

The start of my final year finally arrived. I have been looking forward to it and dreading it at the same time. It’s been a long and interesting journey, and now that I can see a little bit of the light at the end of the tunnel, I can’t help but feel overjoyed.

Naomi Kafumbu, PFP Surgery Scholar

First of all, I can’t wait to officially introduce myself as a General Surgeon, and secondly, I can’t wait to finally catch a breath! I am looking forward to taking the next step in my career, and make a truly meaningful impact in Malawi.

As I have always mentioned, it is my deepest desire to complete this journey by becoming a Trauma Surgeon. I believe that I can make a difference in trauma care in Malawi with the skills I have gained now, and even more so once I get an opportunity to subspecialize in Trauma Surgery.

There is a rising number of trauma cases in Malawi due to the rapid urbanization and the increasing crime rate associated with the economic instability. The latest and cheapest mode of transportation is the motorcycle-taxi which is the top reason for trauma admissions here at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital (QECH).

Naomi and colleagues with little patients

I recently managed a 17-year-old school girl. She had been run over by a motorcyclist while on her way back from school. We diagnosed her with a ruptured spleen, and she required urgent life-saving surgery. As the resident on call, I took the patient to theatre for an exploratory laparotomy and identified that she needed a splenectomy. Until then, I had only assisted in one splenectomy, and my consultant was almost 30 minutes out. She encouraged me to start since I knew the steps from my reading. I did my best, and by the time my consultant arrived, the spleen was out and the bleeding had been controlled, immediately stabilizing the patient! I was so happy to have done my first “solo” splenectomy. The patient went home alive and walking 5 days later, and I couldn’t be prouder.

On this day, I realized that being in my final year did not mean that I know how to do every surgical procedure in the books. Even procedures that seem to be labelled as simple still require time and practice. It has always felt difficult to master other surgical procedures because QECH constantly has emergencies, and that is pretty much all we ever do. So, this quarter, I have learnt to give myself grace and time, and to know that it’s ok to not know everything right now, but still strive to learn.

Naomi Thandizo Kafumbu