Africa Institute for Human Dignity Dr GM Ssebunnya CV

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Dr Gerald Michael Ssebunnya

CONTACT DETAILS

Africa Institute for Human Dignity

Plot 16739 Depenqa Rd, Gaborone-West Phase 1

P O Box 601977, Gaborone, Botswana

Tel: +267 3164811 (office) / +267 71612900 (mobile)

Email: gms@humandignityafrica.com

PERSONAL PROFILE

A patient-centred primary care physician; a self-motivated researcher in bioethics, philosophy of medicine and African philosophy; and an ardent learner and deferential team player, who is eager to engage in a multidisciplinary professional environment.

EDUCATION

Doctor of Philosophy in Philosophy (DPhil) Jun. 2013

St. Augustine College of South Africa, Johannesburg, South Africa

Supervisor: Prof. Gerard Walmsley
Thesis: The Eclipse of the Good Physician: A Trifocal Perspective on Medicine as a Moral Enterprise.
Synopsis: My research examined the conceptual underpinning of Western bioethics and contemporary medical professionalism, and the plausibility of an authentic philosophy of medicine. I explored the rise and dominance of principlism, the emergence of the ‘hidden curriculum’ in medical education, and the resurgence of the human dignity debate in contemporary bioethics discourse.

Master of Philosophy in Applied Ethics (MPhil) Oct. 2004

St. Augustine College of South Africa, Johannesburg, South Africa

Supervisors: Prof. Gerard Walmsley and Dr Anthony Eagan
Research paper: To Clone or Not to Clone: Insights from Aquinas on the Issue of Human Cloning.
Relevant Coursework: metaphysics; epistemology; ethics; science and religion;
bioethics; and gender and family ethics.

Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MB ChB) Jan. 1987
Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda

Relevant Coursework: Relevant Coursework: Two years of study in the biomedical sciences: human anatomy; human physiology; biochemistry; pathology; medical microbiology; and pharmacology. Then three years of clinical study in: paediatrics; internal medicine; surgery; obstetrics and gynaecology; public health; forensic medicine; and medical ethics. Awarded the 1984 meritorious 1 year residency at the Uganda Cancer Institute.

WORK EXPERIENCE

Part-time Lecturer in Medical Ethics and Professionalism Jan. 2019 – Jan. 2020

Faculty of Medicine, University of Botswana, Gaborone, Botswana

Founding Executive Director Jul. 2018 - present

Africa Institute for Human Dignity, Gaborone, Botswana

Medical Director Nov. 1999 - present

Padre Pio Medical Centre, Gaborone, Botswana

Chief executive officer (Nov. 1999 – present)
Primary care physician (Nov. 1999 – present)
Independent researcher in bioethics and philosophy of medicine (Oct. 2004 – present)
Preceptor in Family Medicine and Primary Health Care for undergraduate medical students (Oct. 2006 – present)

Medical Officer Sept. 1993 – Mar. 1999

Gaborone City Council Clinics, Gaborone, Botswana

Primary care physician

Medical Superintendent Aug. 1989 – Aug. 1993

Kisekka Foundation Hospital, Kampala, Uganda

Chief executive officer
Primary care physician

Medical Officer Jul. 1987 – Jul. 1989

Maracha Hospital, Arua, Uganda

Primary care physician

Medical Intern Jul. 1986 – Jul. 1987

Nsambya Hospital, Kampala, Uganda

Intensive rotations in: surgery; internal medicine; obstetrics and gynaecology; and paediatrics.

MAJOR VOLUNTARY SERVICE TO THE MEDICAL PROFESSION

Member of the Medical Board Nov. 2011 – present

Botswana Health Professions Council (BHPC), Gaborone, Botswana

Pre-registration examiner of medical practitioners for the BHPC.
Other contributions include:

Administering the ‘Hippocratic Oath’ to the University of Botswana medical graduands (October 20, 2022; October 04, 2021; October 11, 2019).
Research: ‘Undergraduate Medical Programs in Mainland China That Are Approvable by the Botswana Health Professions Council: A Study Report by the BHPC Medical Board’ (Co-authored with Dr Loeto Mazhani on behalf of the BHPC Medical Board, March 24, 2017).
A presentation: ‘The Scope of Practice of the BHPC Medical Practitioner’ (BHPC Scopes of Practice Workshop, Gaborone, June 27, 2015).
A presentation: ‘Professionalism in Health Care: Emerging Concerns of the BHPC’ (2nd National Family Medicine and PHC Conference, University of Botswana Faculty of Medicine, September 11, 2014).
Drafting the scope of practice for medical practitioners in Botswana (April 2014).
Contributing to the accreditation of the undergraduate medical program of the University of Botswana School of Medicine (May 2013).
Contributing to the formulation of the requisite professional competencies for medical practitioners in Botswana (July 2012).

TEACHING EXPERIENCE

Part-time Lecturer in Medical Ethics and Professionalism Jan. 2019 – Jan. 2020

Faculty of Medicine, University of Botswana, Gaborone, Botswana

Tasked with designing, developing and implementing a formal Medical Ethics and Professionalism curriculum for the undergraduate MBBS programme.

Sessional Lecturer in Medical Ethics and Professionalism Apr. 2018 – present

Faculty of Medicine, University of Botswana, Gaborone, Botswana

Delivering the Medical Ethics and Professionalism component of the postgraduate GME601 Course.

Pre-registration Examiner Nov. 2011 –present

Botswana Health Professions Council, Gaborone, Botswana

Conducting pre-registration written and oral examinations of medical practitioners.

Preceptor in Family Medicine and Primary Health Care Oct. 2006 - present

Padre Pio Medical Centre, Gaborone, Botswana

Preceptor and mentor of pre-med and medical students - from University of Pretoria and University of Calgary, among others.

RESEARCH AND PUBLICATIONS

CURRENT RESEARCH PROJECTS

Developing an African framework for public engagement with human genome editing - Africa Institute for Human Dignity.
Establishing a research network on human dignity, human values and human flourishing in contemporary Africa - Africa Institute for Human Dignity.
Book project: The Eclipse of the Good Physician: Moral Agency, the Moral Imperative, and Ethical Action-guidance in Contemporary Medicine.

OTHER RESEARCH INTERESTS

The dignity of the human person; conceptual bioethics; medical professionalism; empirical research ethics; public engagement; African philosophy; Lonerganian thought; neo-Thomistic thought; and gender and family ethics.

RESEARCH GRANTS

2020: ‘Towards an Appropriate African Framework for Public Engagement with Human Genome Editing’, Wellcome, Global Forum on Bioethics in Research Fellowship, 220559/Z/20/Z. Principal Investigator (USD9,527).

REVIEWER

Journal of Bioethical Inquiry
Developing World Bioethics
Global Bioethics

SELECTED PEER-REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS

Ssebunnya, G.M. (2022) Towards an appropriate African framework for public engagement with human genome editing: a call to synergistic action [version 1; peer review: awaiting peer review]. Wellcome Open Res 2022, 7:302 https://doi.org/10.12688/wellcomeopenres.18579.1
Ssebunnya, G.M. Key Perspectives on Medical Ethics in Africa. In J.O. Chimakonam & LC. Rodrigues (Eds.). African Ethics: A Guide to Key Ideas (pp. 295-309). Bloomsbury Publishing.
Ssebunnya, G.M. (2017) Beyond the Sterility of a Distinct African Bioethics: Addressing the Conceptual Bioethics Lag in Africa. Developing World Bioethics, 17 (1): 22–31. doi:10.1111/dewb.12106
Ssebunnya, G.M. (2015) A Trifocal Perspective on Medicine as a Moral Enterprise: Towards an Authentic Philosophy of Medicine. Journal of Medicine and Philosophy, 40(1):8-25. doi: 10.1093/jmp/jhu044. Epub 2014 Dec 10.
Ssebunnya, G.M. (2013) Beyond the hidden curriculum: The challenging search for authentic values in medical ethics education. South African Journal of Bioethics and Law, 6(2):48-51. DOI:10.7196/sajbl.267
Ssebunnya, G.M. (2012) On the secularisation of the image of God: The resurgence of the human dignity debate in contemporary bioethics discourse. Missionalia, 40(1/2):105-118.

RESEARCH DISSERTATIONS

Ssebunnya, GM. (2013) The Eclipse of the Good Physician: A Trifocal Perspective on Medicine as a Moral Enterprise. DPhil thesis. St. Augustine College of South Africa, 2013.
Ssebunnya, GM. (2004) To Clone or Not to Clone: Insights from Aquinas on the Issue of Human Cloning. MPhil thesis. St. Augustine College of South Africa, 2004.

OTHER ACADEMIC PUBLICATIONS

Ssebunnya, GM., Kiggundu, J., Lukoma, JB., Ssegawa-Kaggwa, J. and Mafela, L. (2019) Africa’s New Global Outlook: The Founding of Africa Institute for Human Dignity. Gaborone: Africa Institute for Human Dignity.
Ssebunnya, GM., Kiggundu, J., Lukoma, JB., Ssegawa-Kaggwa, J. and Mafela, L. (2019) The AIHD Concept: Articulating Contemporary African Thought. Gaborone: Africa Institute for Human Dignity.

RECENT PARTICIPATION AT LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES

Organising:

Botswana International Nursing Conference, Gaborone, November 7 – 9, 2017: member of the scientific committee and plenary session chairperson.
The 4th Botswana National Family Medicine and Primary Health Care Conference, University of Botswana, September 1-2, 2016: member of the scientific committee.

Papers:

Ssebunnya, GM (2022) The Primacy of Ethics in Patient-centred Care: Some Foundational Concepts. World Pre-Health Conference 2022. Virtual, March 26-27, 2022 (Keynote speaker, bioethics)
Ssebunnya, GM (2021) Ethical Dilemmas in the Management of the COVID-19 Patient. Botswana Paediatrics Association 8th Conference. Virtual, July 30-31, 2021.
Ssebunnya, GM (2021) The Primacy of Ethics in Patient-centred Care: Some Foundational Concepts. Debswana Health Care Training Webinar, June 15, 2021.
Ssebunnya, GM. (2019) Prudence in germline gene editing: the urgent need for collaborative partnerships in Africa. Global Forum for Bioetics in Research (GFBR) Meeting 2019, Singapore, November 12-13, 2019.
Ssebunnya, GM. (2018) Ethical and Medico-legal Considerations in Trauma Care. 2018 Round-Table & Summit for Trauma Care Providers, African Centre for Surgical Innovation, Gaborone, December 13, 2018
Ssebunnya, GM. (2016) The Primacy of Ethics in Patient-centred Care: Discerning the Biopsychosocial Good in the Clinical Encounter. The 4th Botswana National Family Medicine and Primary Health Care Conference, University of Botswana, September 1-2, 2016.
Ssebunnya, GM. (2016) The Primacy of Ethics in Patient-centred Care: Addressing the Challenges in a Resource-limited Setting. Upholding Healthcare Ethics in Modern Society, Aviwe Healthcare Seminar, Gaborone, June 21, 2016.
Ssebunnya, GM. (2014) Professionalism in Health Care: Emerging Concerns of the Botswana Health Professions Council. The 2nd Botswana National Family Medicine and Primary Health Care Conference, University of Botswana, September 10-12, 2014.
Ssebunnya, GM. (2011) On the Secularisation of the Image of God: The Resurgence of the Human Dignity Debate in Contemporary Bioethics Discourse. Faith in the Face of Secularism, St. Augustine College of South Africa, August 28-31, 2011. (This paper was selected for peer-reviewed publication by Missionalia).

Poster:

Ssebunnya, GM. (2009) The Eclipse of the Good Physician: A Trifocal Perspective on Medicine as a Moral Enterprise. International Ethics Conference, University of Botswana, December 6-10, 2009.

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS AND MEMBERSHIPS

Member of the Working Group, African Genomic Medicine Training (AGMT) Initiative (2022 - present)
Member, NHGRI Inter-Society Coordinating Committee for Practitioner Education in Genomics (ISCC-PEG) (2022 - present)
Member, Africa Institute for Human Dignity Research Network (AIHDReNet) (2021 - present)
Member of the Medical Board, Botswana Health Professions Council (2011- present)
Member of the Medical Board, University of Botswana (2008-2010)
Certified KITSO AIDS Clinician, Botswana (2005)
Member of the Botswana HIV Clinicians Society (2004 – present)
Member of the Medical Practitioners Group of Botswana (1999 – present)
Fully registered Medical Practitioner, Botswana Health Professions Council 1993 –present).