Why I left private practice for the public sector

Some of the greatest psychological stressors are said to include breakups, death, moving house, and starting a new job. Sometimes we choose one or more of these willingly, and hope to hell that the payoff will be worth it. For two years, I worked in private general practice in Cape Town. The benefits of this kind

Threatened By The People We Serve

A few weeks ago, the community around one of the hospitals where I work picked up their torches and pitchforks (well, sort of) and protested again. I’ve written before about South Africa’s protest state of mind, and about working during a riot.

On Call During A Riot

Last night while on call I treated rubber bullet injuries. I treated MANY rubber bullet injuries. If you thought rubber bullets only cause bruising – well, you’d be wrong. They can penetrate. During my fourth year forensic pathology rotation, we did an autopsy on a man who died due to a rubber bullet embolism. 

You guys! I ran a marathon!

In September 2015, after reading Tom Foreman’s My Year of Running Dangerously, I got it in my head to run the Two Ocean’s Marathon. For some reason I didn’t click that it was actually an ultra at 56km, and that I would need to run a qualifying marathon first. What can I say, sometimes I’m a

Auf Wiedersehen, Orthopaedics

How hard were these past two months? Together with one other intern, I looked after a firm of up to eighty patients. We did ward rounds with our senior colleagues only once a week. The rest of the time it was up to us to manage our patients and keep them alive (and know when to call for help).

Back to Stutterheim

We stayed in a little place called The Shire Eco Lodge. Wooden open-plan cabins that sleep four (two in bunk beds high up in the rafters). The Shire is in the middle of the Kologha Forest, and at night you hear the whistling of the wind through the trees. It’s magical. Stutterheim is not a city. It’s hardly even a town, and it shows in the millions of bright stars at night.

Throwback: Roadtrip Through History

I wrote this post as a note on Facebook exactly five years ago, 6 July 2010. I’m often ashamed when I read my past writings, but this isn’t one of those times. I’ve left it exactly as is. I’m not sure how much sense it will make to people who are not familiar with South

Interns’ Weekend Getaway to Morgan Bay

I just had such an incredible weekend with a few of my fellow interns. At the beginning of the year, a second year intern told us, “If you have the weekend off, please don’t stay in town. Go do something!” So we did.

A Story of a Statue

They say that history is written by the victors. Is that why so many take offense by these statues? Because we are told that we WON the Struggle against Apartheid, but these statues laugh in our faces because they don’t KNOW that they lost, many years later.

Communicating with Patients who don’t Speak Your Language

Here are some tips for when you and your patient don’t speak each other’s language, literally.