Dr. Kaku Barkoh, the son of Ghanian immigrants, has long mentored youths who were considering a career in health care. Now the Campbell Clinic alum (class of 2016) and orthopaedic spine sub-specialist has a new tool in his mentoring toolbox: a self-published book, “Become a Doctor, Lawyer, or Engineer: Misguided Advice of Immigrant and Middle-Class Parents.”
As Dr. Barkoh grew up in Texas and went through medical training, he discovered many similarities among middle-class immigrants’ parenting and expectations of their children. “Becoming a doctor, lawyer or engineer were always at the forefront of the advice we were given,” he said. “I wanted to provide context for people considering those careers, especially medicine, to know what that journey might look like.”
“The goal of the book is to provide informed consent for career decision-making,” Barkoh added. “If you really don’t have a passion for the career and you’re pursuing it based on other people’s recommendations, you may end up dissatisfied.”
Dr. Barkoh explained that in talking privately to medical colleagues over the years, “you get the raw story, you hear people’s raw emotions, their frustrations, their regrets. But then when you go out and sit on a high school or college panel, those same people would not express those feelings. I said, ‘Wait a minute. That’s not fair because we’re not giving people the full picture. Just like before we do surgery, we have to tell the patients the risks, benefits and alternatives, right? And if they still want to do that, they’ve been informed and they can consent.”
“I felt like we needed the same thing for career decision-making. What’s the good, the bad and the ugly? What are the downsides that people don’t talk about?”
Burnout, higher suicide rates and substance abuse are among the issues addressed in the 186-page book, available at Amazon. Dr. Barkoh said the book, which he described as “a labor of love,” took him about two years to write, edit, and publish.
Now he wants to get it into the hands of as many high school and college students as possible.
“I don’t think the right question is, ‘What do you want to do with your life?’ Unfortunately, students don’t have enough life experience to answer that. I think we need to be focusing more on ‘What is your passion? What do you think your purpose is?’ ”
Dr. Barkoh’s practice is Orthopaedic Associates, LLP in Kingwood, Livingston, Houston and The Woodlands/Conroe TX. He and his wife, Kay, have a daughter and two sons.
Of everything he learned while at Campbell Clinic, its emphasis on the three pillars of “faith, family and Campbell Clinic,” was probably the most important teaching, Dr. Barkoh said. “Understanding that balance should remain in your career has been really important for me. How has that translated into my practice? I don’t take ER calls, I don’t work night and weekends because I want to be here with my family,” he said. He also coaches his son’s and daughter’s basketball teams. “I think that was one of the most important lessons that I took from Campbell Clinic, keeping those priorities in that order.”
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