After seven years practicing medicine in the United Kingdom, John Ndikum thought his master in public health studies would be a walk in the park. Instead, he has found that he is learning completely new ways to think. In medicine, he says, you memorize a lot of facts and details and learn to put them into context. In public health, one learns to deal with the complexities of real world implications, conflicting interests and societal architecture. “I’m learning how to have a 360-degree view of problems and at the same time, have come to acknowledge that my ideas are not the only ones or always the best ones,” says John. “There can be two valid opinions, both based on evidence. Only an omniscient being has all the facts.”
John’s interest in public health came out of a period of existential and professional reflection that also resulted in his book of poetry, “Words of a Feather: The Mystic Musings of a Medical Man.” As a close witness to the human condition, he felt that he needed to make a difference on a larger scale. John, who was born in Cameroon and moved to the United Kingdom when he was eight, came to realize that much of his success is due to the emphasis on academic excellence in an environment of structural privilege. “I want my work to help more people to be able to share in that privilege.”