Salome Odafen

I attribute my success to God and the support of my family and friends. Faith is so important to me - God is at the center of everything I do. My family has been instrumental in my journey, and I have been blessed with good friendships that have sustained me. Without the support system of my loved ones and my faith, I would not be where I am today. These relationships and my spiritual foundation have given me the strength to persevere and achieve my goals.

The best career advice I have ever received is to never give up on what you believe in and never give up on what you want to do. My journey has really been one of never giving up. Getting into medical school was not easy for me, and I come from a family where all my siblings are very bright. I always felt like I was not as bright as all of them because I struggled sometimes to read words very well, to pronounce words, and to understand mathematical calculations, while my siblings were brilliant at it. I looked up to them, but I also felt like I was not the most brilliant person. However, my story has been one of persistence - it was just about never giving up. The people around me believed in me and told me to never give up, that I could always be what I believed I could be. That advice has carried me through every challenge.

I would say believe in yourself - that is number one. I would also say find your niche, because your pathway is not going to be the same as everyone else's. Your story is not going to be the same with everyone, but that is why you are unique. Just find your niche and believe in yourself. Never feel intimidated or have imposter syndrome. You are there because you deserve to be there, because you have worked hard enough to be there. There is nothing you cannot do. Remember that you belong in every space you occupy, and your unique perspective and journey are valuable contributions to the field.

In healthcare, the biggest challenges I have seen on the world stage are having enough physicians to meet the needs of people, as well as accessibility and funding. Funding is a huge issue right now, and accessibility to care remains a critical barrier. The opportunities we have in healthcare include improving our insurance systems so people can actually access good care, creating opportunities to train more medical doctors, and finding ways to keep talent in Africa and Nigeria specifically - we need to stop losing our talent to other countries. For mental health specifically, the biggest challenge is the stigma that comes with working in that field and the stigma of having a mental health challenge. But the opportunity we have in mental health right now is to change that narrative, to be part of the generation that changes that narrative across boards, across countries, across communities, across government. That is the biggest opportunity we have - to change that narrative and to change the stigma surrounding mental health.

For me, faith is so important - God is so important to me. Family is so important to me. Impact is important to me. I believe that you should not just be in the world - wherever you are, people need to feel your presence, and you need to influence any space that you are in. So God, faith, family, and impact are my core values. I would also add love - one of my favorite quotes is from the Bible that says love your neighbor as yourself, and I just believe so much in loving those around us and sharing love to people around us. That is the least you can do for any person around you. Friendship is also incredibly important to me - good friendship sustains and supports you through everything.