Ngwelezana surgeons score another 100%

Ngwelezana doctors achieve 100% pass rate in demanding examination, reinforcing the hospital’s surgical training reputation.

1 hour ago

Dave Savides 2 minutes read

The mentor team behind the latest exam success: (back) Dr Avin Dayanand, Dr Mahesh Naidoo (HoD), Dr Ravi Naidoo and Dr Juan McAlpine; (front) the two successful candidates, Dr Mondli Mfeka and Dr Thokozisa Gambushe Photo: Ngwelezana Hospital

NGWELEZANA Tertiary Hospital’s Department of General Surgery, Trauma and Burns has notched up another 100% pass rate.

This after two junior doctors sailed through the demanding FCS (SA) Intermediate Part 1B examination on their first attempt.

Dr Mondli Mfeka and Dr Thokozisa Gambushe spent the better part of the year working toward the milestone – a critical step on the Fellowship pathway that tests advanced applied surgical sciences and serves as a gateway toward specialist surgical training.

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The exam is no quick formality. Candidates first sat a written paper in February, before returning in May for an oral and practical examination, known as an OSCE.

Results were released in July, five months after the first paper was written.

“The gap between writing the exam and getting the result just adds to the stress,” said HoD Dr Mahesh Naidoo.

“This is exactly the kind of result we work for. Passing the FCS Intermediate exam while carrying a full clinical load at a hospital like Ngwelezana is not easy.

“It takes real discipline from the candidates, and it takes a department that is willing to protect time for teaching even when the workload doesn’t let up.”

He extended his congrats to the successful candidates. “This is the kind of achievement that keeps Ngwelezana’s name up there as a training ground for the next generation of surgeons in KZN,” he said.

Both doctors sat the exam while working full-time in one of KZN’s busiest tertiary surgical units, juggling ward rounds, theatre lists and night calls alongside months of study for the written paper, oral examination and the practical assessment (OSCE).

Support squad

Standing behind them are the consultants who continue to mentor the department’s training programme: Dr Avin Dayanand, Dr Maheshwar Naidoo, Dr Ravi Naidoo and Dr Juan McAlpine.

The department has built a reputation over more than a decade for combining a heavy service load with a hands-on training culture, producing a steady run of exam successes documented in this newspaper going back to 2013.

Management has repeatedly stressed that rural and regional hospitals must invest in training to attract and keep motivated young doctors – and results like these are proof the approach works.

Dr Mfeka has since been appointed to a registrar trainee post at Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine, (University of KZN), while Dr Gambushe is awaiting an appointment in Gauteng.