The School of Medicine at the University of Limpopo (UL) has recently inducted 25 Cuban-trained medical students who enrolled with the institution to undertake an 18-month clinical training in South Africa
The School hosted a virtual welcoming session and a two-day orientation programme to familiarise the fourth cohort with the university’s departments and facilities, with which they will interact during their stay at UL.
The Nelson Mandela-Fidel Castro Cuban Collaboration Programme (NMFCCP) students will rotate through Limpopo hospitals in Mankweng, Polokwane, and Thabamoopo. Medical training in Cuba for South African students is part of a bi-national agreement between South Africa and Cuba. It was signed by former presidents Nelson Mandela and Fidel Castro to address the shortage of medical practitioners in historically disadvantaged areas, as well as to improve human resource workforce capacity and strengthen South Africa’s health care system.
Since students spent the previous five years of their training in Cuba learning in Spanish, the students upon qualifying as doctors are expected to be conversant with the healthcare system, disease profililing, and medical procedures in the South African context.
In her welcoming remarks, Prof Tebogo Mothiba, Executive Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences, stated that the students had returned to the country at a time when the country was dealing with the Covid-19 outbreak and that their knowledge would be essential to the country.
“All medical students’ roles are critical because you are now considered frontliners. Your acquired knowledge will be important in addressing the pandemic and encouraging people to be vaccinated. Medicine as a profession is a way of life for you. You will eat and sleep in hospitals, and you should be delighted since you will be helping fellow citizens in achieving quality of life,” said Prof Mothiba.
The Director of the School of Medicine at UL, Prof Samuel Risenga, reminded the students that the programme hoped they would improve Primary Health Care (PHC) in marginalised communities. He said that they should not gravitate to the city, leaving rural communities unserved.
“Serving there (in rural communities) is gratifying because you go in as a scarce service and educate the community while contributing to improved primary health care. It is because 90% of our people require PHC,” asserted Prof Risenga.
Prof Risenga also stated that the primary healthcare landscape has evolved in terms of disease profile since he practised some 40 years ago, as they focused on curative care in the predominance of infectious diseases such as polio.
“Diseases like polio have been eradicated, and you will now have to deal with disease burdens that are mostly lifestyle-related,” he said.
In her address, Limpopo MEC for Health Dr. Phophi Ramathuba encouraged the intake to embrace the programme and apply the skills learned to enhance healthcare. She revealed that over the years, the programme has developed specialists such as the province’s first female clinical director, who is now in charge of clinical services. She also mentioned that the first female black cardiothoracic surgeon is an alumna of the programme and currently practises in Limpopo. Dr. Ramathuba urged the students to take on roles in rural areas since one of Mandela’s ambitions was that health should not be a question of income but a basic human right, and practitioners should serve the poor. She stated that Covid-19 was devastating families and that she hoped the students would add value and save lives.
Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Teaching and Learning, Prof Richard Madadzhe stressed that with hard work and devotion, anything is possible. He pleaded with the students not to doubt their potential. “You have the potential to outperform other groups, as our first cohort did. Take care of one another and study together while adhering to the Covid-19 protocols so that you can all complete your studies at the same time,” urged Prof Madadzhe. He also stated that the institution provides all of the support services they would require for a successful stay, such as counselling and development services, a health centre, mentorship, and effective libraries, among other things.
Dr. Andile Tlamuka, an alumnus of the programme who had his clinical training at UL and now practises as a qualified medical doctor in Lebowakgomo, advised the current cohort to take advantage of the campus psychosocial support, asserting it is the best integration programme in the country.
“We actually surpassed expectations and emerged as the best in the country among our peers who were integrated at other universities,” boasted Dr. Tlamuka.
According to Dean of Students Dr. Mochaki Masipa and Transitional SRC President Sekedi Mabatha, the institution is a learning civic, which means it is a community of informed people who learn from and through one another. They encouraged the students also to learn beyond the classroom and laboratory by participating in extracurricular activities such as sports to gain a comprehensive campus life experience.
By Moses Moreroa