Anita Nkusi is a physiotherapist at King Faisal Hospital, and has been practicing for about six years now. She is married to a Rwandan neurosurgeon she met in South Africa before coming to work in Rwanda. The mother of two had a chat with Women Today’s Sharon Kantengwa about her experience in the male dominated field and also, gave tips on breaking the barriers.

What influenced your choice of profession?

I was always interested in doing something in the medical field and because my father was in the profession, I was exposed to physiotherapy while growing up and it influenced my choice of career.

What do you like about your job?

I love serving and working with people. Patients can become quite desperate when they have health issues and I think that when you have the skills that can relieve their pain, or help them overcome that problem, it is very rewarding to you as a person. Any medical career can be quite challenging because sometimes people’s diagnosis is clear cut and people react differently. It’s hard work, stressful and can also be emotionally challenging in some extreme cases, but when you make a difference in someone’s life, it is very rewarding.

Being in a male dominated career, what challenges do women face and how can they be addressed?

Working in a male dominated field sometimes comes with a tendency of gender discrimination, and this requires women to be confident, know their rights and gender equality laws, because I think that if women are empowered and know their rights, they can move forward. Also, the policies that government puts in place have to be implemented for women to get ahead. Women in male dominated fields also tend to suffer more so they need to have coping mechanisms and,also, work as team because it’s not a competition with men. They need to be professional and stay focused because ideally, women have good communication skills; they are efficient, hard working and very competitive and so they can make a difference to every position.

As a mother and wife, how do you balance work with family?

When I was working in South Africa, I was working full time and it was very hard to balance the two because you’re torn between doing the job well and raising your children. I have, however, been very privileged to be able to work part time. That’s not something everyone can do but as a consultant at KFH, I can choose my working hours which has been quite helpful in the struggle to balance work and family. I have a husband that works very long hours and gets home late in the night and so everything to do with the home and kids is my responsibility which can be very demanding.

What do you attribute your medical career accomplishment to?

To be a good medic, you need to be a high achiever, good academically and hard working right from the beginning, you must be competent at what you do and reason quickly when a patient gives you information. And you must be emotionally strong and, encourage yourself. Because even though you’re in a tough profession, you’re human. Physiotherapy is hard work for the patient as well and therefore, you must encourage and support them. You must have creditable skills background, good training, a high level of confidence, and,you need to be updated with medical knowledge because it’s constantly revolving, to serve people well.

What advice do you have for young girls who would want to take up male dominated fields such as this?

Women view success slightly different from men because we view it by achievement, influence, and accomplishment and not in monetary terms. I, therefore, think it is important that we have female role models in such professions so that girls can see that it can be a viable option for them as a career. They need to be resilient, brave and if you are passionate about something, it will get you through no matter what because this is something that you love. Also, women in minority positions can be an advantage to them because some careers may tend to push them forward and support them,and show the public that there are females in the profession. As parents, we also need to teach our sons how to respect women, and challenge our cultural or family norms, and teach our daughters to be confident and know that they have equal value; they should be confident and know their strengths and talents.

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