My name is Magnus Nzenwa. I am based in Ile-Ife, Osun State, Nigeria.
I am currently a doctoral candidate and a fellow with the African Research Group for Oncology (ARGO), where I support psychosocial oncology research and contribute to developing structured programs that integrate psychosocial care into cancer treatment.
I am a social worker by training, with over nine years of experience in clinical and community settings. My journey has taken me from providing psychosocial support to oncology and palliative care patients at Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospitals Complex (OAUTHC) to leading GBV response programs with UNHCR and the National Human Rights Commission. I hold an MSc in Social Work, I await my doctoral oral examination and have completed international fellowships in Psychosocial Oncology at the Open Medical Institute (OMI) in Salzburg and Palliative Care at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York.
I am pursuing the Clinical & Care Delivery (CCD) track. My work sits at the intersection of patient care and data, I have long witnessed how critical psychosocial information (trauma history, mental health status, caregiver needs) often lives in notebooks rather than in clinical records. CCD aligns with my goal to change that.
As a medical social worker in an oncology setting, I repeatedly saw the same problem: a patient's story, their fears, their support system, their mental health, did not travel with them from my desk to the oncologist's screen. We called patients "non-adherent" without ever knowing what barriers they faced. I believe health informatics is the bridge. I want to learn how to design systems that make the invisible visible, where psychosocial data is not an afterthought but an integral part of care.
In my experience, health systems in Nigeria capture diseases well, but they do not capture people. A patient's file may show a diagnosis, treatment dates, and medication lists, but it rarely shows their trauma, their poverty, or their fears. This fragmentation means we treat conditions, not individuals. The challenge is not just technical, it is systemic and cultural. We need systems that see the whole person.
I hope to gain the practical skills to design, implement, or advocate for integrated health information systems that center the patient. I want to leave this program not just with knowledge but with a clear vision of how to build the "psychosocial flag" I have long imagined, a simple, sustainable way to ensure that what matters about a patient travels with them through every door they walk through.
I look forward to learning with all of you.
Magnus Nzenwa