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At least 45 WSU Doctors were amongst newly hooded medical specialists who graduated in the 2024 Eastern Cape graduation ceremony of the College of Medicine of South Africa (CMSA) held at the Mthatha Campus on Wednesday.
Speaking at the opening the Vice-Chancellor and Principal of WSU, Prof Rushiella Songca, emphasised the importance of reflecting on their environments to appreciate the critical role they play in the communities they serve while celebrating the success of their colleagues.
“Research informs us that South Africa is facing an incomparable barren of diseases, poverty, and inadequate access to healthcare compared to its counterparts in the world. The impact of these challenges is amplified in rural communities such as the Eastern Cape,” said Songca.
“Therefore, our medical practitioners need to appreciate their unique role, especially those practicing in rural communities such as the EC, Limpopo, and other parts of Kwa-Zulu Natal, and not detach themselves from those realities.”
In the past three years, WSU has played host for the Eastern Cape chapter to a series of CMSA graduations where an average of 45 medical specialists have been hooded since 2022 to serve the greater needs of the Eastern Cape healthcare system.
“Your role as healthcare practitioners infuses the role of advocacy, you must be the vanguards of our people. Therefore, you must also challenge the status quo as it relates to the provisioning of health services by the government,” said Songca.
These doctors have furthered their practice capabilities by completing rigorous training before sitting the CMSA Fellowship and Diploma examinations.
When concluding, Songca said, “I therefore encourage you to use achievements to transform the health system through better governance, better patient care, and improve access to care.”
These specialists join at least 112 specialists who graduated through the Bachelor of Medicine programme at WSU.
The president of CMSA, Prof Johan Fagan, said the CMSA continues to advocate for quality healthcare for all in South Africa through strengthening academic activities, promoting ethical standards for the benefit of humanity, and collaborations with universities.
The Guest speaker of the day, the Executive Dean of Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Prof Wezile Chitha commenced with appreciating the great sacrifice of the graduating candidates who dedicate their lives to serving the community.
However, the Public Health specialist also reflected on the successes and realities faced by the practising specialist and poor communities and how health practitioners have been advocating for better access to healthcare services for the poor since the 1990s.
“Most fields of medicine have seen advances that include reproductive techniques, uterine transplants, cochlear implants, the cancer genome atlas, the human genome project, and improvement in HIV/AIDS drug combinations.”
However, Chitha adds that to some extent some things have become worse over the years.
According to the speaker these include the death of women while giving birth, many children who die below the age of 5 years, the constant high number of TB infections and death case, the increasing prevalence of lifestyle diseases like diabetes, the high number of gender-based and interpersonal violent cases during the weekend, amongst others.
The gathering was disheartened by s statistics presented by Statistics South Africa where it reflected that people living with disability will likely poor access to education and healthcare if they are from a rural area, especially in the EC.
He said, “I therefore sincerely hope that this additional qualification will strengthens your role as a health professional, your desire to serve the disadvantaged and disenfranchised, and your ability to advocate for better quality to healthcare.”
By Ongezwa Sigodi
