Arinze Leonard Onwumelu: A Life-Saver Worldwide

Nigerian-born Clinical Assistant Professor of Family Medicine at the University of Calgary, Dr Arinze Leonard Onwumelu, better known as Doctor Zo, has continued to save lives all of the world through his medical professional in Canada.

Speaking recently, the 51-year-old, who studied Medicine at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, shed light on his journey into the medical field all began.

Doctor Zo said: “I did a higher surgical residency programme in RCSI (Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland) from 2002 to 2009. While in Ireland, I also did higher diploma programmes in Tropical Medicine and Musculoskeletal Medicine at RCSI and also studied for MBA from Dublin City University. I did a residency in Family Medicine in Scotland from 2010 to 2014, before I migrated to Canada in 2015 and got appointed as Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Family Medicine, at the University of Calgary in 2016.”

The Doctor also avowed that he has trained over 20 resident doctors in the last four and half years in the Department of Family Medicine, Psychiatry and Dermatology.

“I have helped a lot of international medical graduates, especially ones from Nigeria, to get into different residency programmes in Canada,” he said.

The medical profession took the centre stage in human survival following the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.
Two years later, Dr Zo offered his opinion on the medical profession, saying: “Medicine is certainly a very difficult course to study. It takes a lot of time and hard work, and it would deprive you of most of the comfort other teenagers enjoy. It is not surprising that most younger ones would not want to study medicine due to this.”

Speaking further, Doctor Zo said: “I had my hesitation as a young teenager, but just like my father imbibed in us the spirit of hard work, I took up the challenge squarely. I am very happy to be a medical practitioner today and it has helped me to advance myself and help my society at large.”