In 1840, he tried to enroll in the Naval Medical School (Tersane Tıp Mektebi) but his application was denied because of his lack of familiarity with Italian.

He started working in Surp Lusavorçyan Hospital and guided nurses for more effective forms of treatment by instructing them on hygiene and gathering statistics about the patients.

[4] In 1856, Seferyan attended the National Academy of Medicine in Paris for higher learning and earned his doctorate four years later.

With the outbreak of the Russian-Turkish War in 1877, Seferyan was appointed as the head of the Surp Pırgiç Hospital in Constantinople.

[5] In 1879, he was assigned to the Turkish consulate in Russian-controlled Erevan to resolve the dispute about the status of Ottoman Armenians in territories ceded to Russia with the Treaty of Berlin.

Although a subsequent investigation cleared him of charges, Seferyan decided to step aside, possibly due to old age.

[9][10] Seferyan's life story is generally omitted from the records of Turkish official historiography.

Turkish nationalist historians, believing that an Armenian Christian could not contribute positively to the Ottoman society, decided to completely ignore his deeds.

According to liberal Turkish historian Halil Berktay, acknowledging that a non-Muslim could contribute to the Ottoman state contradicted the exclusionist idea that Armenians were enduring rebellious elements who conspired with European imperialist powers.

Reshid Akif himself took part in the post-WWI government and gave testimony about the mass killing of Armenians.