By Mabinty M. Kamara
Following his successful completion of a Fellowship training at the West African College of Physicians (WACP) that certifies him as one of the country’s only two local Cardiologists currently, Sorie Conteh has been recognized as recipient of three prestigious awards in the just concluded 49th Annual General and Scientific Meeting (AGSM) of the WACP, in Dakar, Senegal from October 27 – 29, 2025.
Conteh was awarded the A C. Ikeme Prize for the best Fellowship candidate in the Cardiology Subspecialty, with the citation noting him “passing at the first attempt with not more than 7 years in total of period in residency training programme, and that the ‘’prestigious award recognises your performance in the Cardiology Sub-Specialty examinations.”
He also received the Theophilus Oladipo Ogunlesi Prize on behalf of the West African College of Physicians (WACP), for the best Dissertation in the Sub-Specialty of Cardiology from the Faculty of Internal Medicine.
“I am pleased to inform you that you have been awarded the Austin Obasohan Prize for the best candidate in the Fellowship Examinations of Cardiology Subspecialty in the Faculty of Internal Medicine. This prestigious award recognises your performance in the Cardiology Sub-Specialty examinations,” reads the citation of another category of the prize awarded
Dr Conteh earned MBCHB in 2008, worked for 4 years and in 2012 went to the Kenyatta National Hospital and did a Master of Medicine in Internal Medicine under the University of Nairobi, and upon completion became a physician specialist in 2015. He then worked as a physician specialist and lecturer at the College of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences for 5 years. “Through the motivation and mentorship of Prof. James BW Russell, I started the Fellowship training under the West African College Physicians in 2021 and Completed in 2024. I am back as the second Cardiologist for a population of over 8 million, you can tell that the work is already cut out for me’’, Conteh said.
The fellowship programme, according to Conteh was a subspecialty training for a minimum period of three years, of which one must be a physician specialist before proceeding to the fellowship training.
He did one year training in Freetown and the other two years at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra Ghana, and then taking the fellowship examination at the University College Hospital in Ibadan, Nigeria in October 2024.
“The bulk of my subspecialty training was done in Ghana, which serves as a centre of excellence for cardiovascular training in West Africa. The recognition is indeed for outstanding performance in the fellowship examination as stated in the letters of award’’, he pointed out.
He however noted that there are benchmarks for such awards which can be withheld for several years until the awardees meet the set standards. ‘’So with this qualification my designation is a Consultant Physician and Cardiologist,” Conteh said.
The other Sierra Leonean cardiologist is Dr.James B.W Russel.
Other Sierra Leonean physicians with different specialties also graduated from the fellowship training.
The West African College of Physicians (WACP) founded in 1976 is a professional organization dedicated to the advancement of medical education and practice in West Africa. It was established to promote high standard medical training, practice, and research in the region.
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