From the moment he stepped into the hospital’s accident and emergency ward, Ghanaian comedian Ben South knew he was in for a challenge.
But it wasn’t the medical work itself that wore him down; it was the heartbreaking scenes he faced daily that ultimately made him reconsider his path.
“The deaths and the traumatic accident cases were just too much. Every day, I’d go home thinking about it all, and it would stay with me,” he admitted, reflecting on his experience during his national service.
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One incident remains vivid in his memory—a pastor he’d attended to one evening who didn’t survive the night. “He passed away in my arms,” Ben shared quietly.
The next morning, the pastor’s wife anxiously approached Ben to ask how her husband was doing, but he found himself speechless, unable to deliver the heartbreaking news. “That moment left a mark on me,” he said, explaining how such intense experiences made him question if he could stay in the field.
Ben initially trained as a psychiatric nurse, a field he found lighter at times, with moments that could even bring unexpected humor. “Working with mental health patients can actually be amusing,” he laughed.
He recalled patients with pseudobulbar affect (PBA), a condition where individuals might laugh uncontrollably even when there’s nothing funny.
“Sometimes, you’d end up laughing with them! That was a part of nursing that felt lighter,” he shared. But his national service required him to rotate across different departments, facing the emotional strain of high-intensity wards where laughter was rare.
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The choice became clear to Ben: “I couldn’t continue like that. I left nursing after three months.” While he doesn’t rule out a return to healthcare someday, he’s found solace and joy in comedy—a path that brings him peace and allows him to make others laugh without carrying the emotional weight home with him.
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