In this episode we speak with Dr Jonathan King, an Emergency medicine consultant currently the acting head of a busy Emergency Department that serves the needs of over 5500 patients each month. We discuss how ED doctors need to know how to identify and treat emergencies related to ALL of the relevant subspecialties in medicine, and how Emergency medicine physicians are as good, if not better, than specialists within these disciplines at managing the emergency patients. We also talk about...

In this episode we have the first in a new series exploring the experiences of registrars currently training towards their specialist qualifications. In the course of this series we hope to offer insights, wisdom and encouragement from young doctors who have begun the process of specialising so that you can learn from their triumphs and struggles and have a clearer picture in your mind what registrar training is like and how to set yourself up for success. Thank you to our sponsors V...

After a run of topical episodes, it’s nice to come back to our more traditional “Coffee With Consultants” feature, which is where I sit down with Consultants and ask them about their journey in medicine, their specialty, and the perks, pitfalls and perils of practicing their profession in South Africa. Today’s episode features one of our more popularly-requested specialties, Dermatology.  Thank you to our sponsors: V Professional Services, and IndemniMed from Money and Medicine. Check out...

In this episode we discuss a hot issue right now, which is the rising number of unemployed medical officers in South Africa post-Community Service - literally hundreds of doctors who want to work in government healthcare facilities but cannot get jobs. Our interview takes the form of a conversation with our very own Dr Nox Mphambukeli & the Peoples Doctor, Dr Mumtaz Emeran-Thomas, both affected by the lack of funded posts in the Public healthcare service. Thank you to our sponsors Money...

Dr Juandré Klopper is a South African medical doctor, software developer and entrepreneur with firsthand experience working in low-resource clinics, where he witnessed significant challenges faced by healthcare workers and patients alike. Through his company Cape Medtech and non-profit Sponsor Medic, he has tackled these challenges head-on, leveraging innovative medical technology and strategic initiatives to address issues such as limited access to healthcare services and staffing shortages....

In today’s episode we’ll be doing a deep dive into tips, tricks, and just plain good advice to help you maximise your time as a medical student and succeed in medical school. However, I hope that lasts week’s episode is evidence enough, that once you’ve graduated from medical school, the studying has not come to an end. Not in the least. In fact, many doctors will tell you that they have continued to study under enormous academic pressure as a medical officer and registrar, so truly medicine...

Happy new year and welcome to 2024! In today’s episode we’ll be doing a deep dive into the various courses and diplomas you should be working towards before, during, and after your Community Service year. Now, many medical students and junior doctors are asked WHAT they would like to specialise in, if at all, and very few are asked about HOW they intend to get there. Certainly, I think for most of us, we only find out about the road to a specialty after we have decided we have an interest in...

Thank you for your incredible support of the podcast this year! In this brief episode, we revisit some of your favourite episodes, most popular Instagram reels, and review the year that was, There is also an important announcement about the future of the podcast. Thank you to our sponsors: IndemniMed - https://www.indemnimed.co.za/ V Professional services - https://vprofservices.com/

This is the fifth and final instalment of our series Motherhood and Medicine. Over the past few weeks, I’ve had the privilege of 5 interviews with 5 superstar moms. My hope is that as you listen to each mom’s story, how she navigated medicine and her pregnancy and now being a mom, that you’ll be equipped and inspired to make your own important life choices more effectively and with the wisdom of others.  About today's guest: Dr Nokukhanya Khanyile-Lenake. Well-known from social media...

This is the fourth instalment of a series we’ve had brewing for a while: Motherhood and Medicine. As you can imagine, between various theatre lists, call rosters, exams, school runs and running their own practices, to try and get a perfect alignment of 5 moms’ schedules, particularly those in registrar time and private practice, is like trying to arrange a solar eclipse. So instead, I’ve decided to interview each guest for a short, one-on-one episode of about 30minutes length. My hope is...

This is the third instalment of a series we’ve had brewing for a while: Motherhood and Medicine. As you can imagine, between various theatre lists, call rosters, exams, school runs and running their own practices, to try and get a perfect alignment of 5 moms’ schedules, particularly those in registrar time and private practice, is like trying to arrange a solar eclipse. So instead, I’ve decided to interview each guest for a short, one-on-one episode of about 30minutes length. My hope is that...

This is the second instalment of a series we’ve had brewing for a while: Motherhood and Medicine. As you can imagine, between various theatre lists, call rosters, exams, school runs and running their own practices, to try and get a perfect alignment of 5 moms’ schedules, particularly those in registrar time and private practice, is like trying to arrange a solar eclipse. So instead, I’ve decided to interview each guest for a short, one-on-one episode of about 30minutes length. My hope is...

In today’s Coffee with consultants feature, I interview Dr Ismail Cassimjee, to talk to him about his specialty of vascular surgery, and his journey in medicine. I’ve been trying to have Dr Cassimjee on the podcast for a while, so I’m really excited to be able to put this interview out for you before the end of the year. Since July 2022, The Dr Coffee Podcast has been available on the major podcast platforms: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and with almost half our episodes...

In today’s episode, I interviewed Mr Graham Cosgrave from Match Medics in Ireland, about what it’s like emigrating to Ireland to work as a doctor there, whether it be a permanent move or for a season, the various options South African doctors have when it comes to how and when to move across, the path to specialisation in Ireland, how long it takes to get a European passport and much much more. Graham Cosgrave is a director of medical recruitment at Match Medics, where he searches the globe...

On this week’s "Coffee with consultants" feature, we’re interviewing a specialist in what is often portrayed in media and popular culture as one of those ‘rockstar’ surgical specialties - Neurosurgery. We have an awesome interview lined up for you, as well as a historical story time with a question to interact with and respond to, and once again our feature on the IASSS’ future surgeons program Thank you to our amazing sponsors: 1. V Professional Services - Medical Billing & Practice...

Welcome to Part 1 of our "Motherhood & Medicine" series! In this series, we interview 5 super moms about how they navigated pregnancy and motherhood while balancing a demanding career in medicine. Learn how they decided to time their pregnancies, how they coped with registrar time while pregnant, dealing with the anguish of leaving your baby to return to work after maternity leave, coping with calls and the demands of parenting before and after calls, and much more. Thank you to our...

SutureKits.co.za is a new local distributor of suture practice kits, founded by 1st-year medical student Delarey Van Tonder. They offer high-quality, extremely affordable suturing skills kits designed for medical students and aspiring surgeons to sharpen their skills in the privacy and comfort of their own homes. We had a conversation about the kits, which are available for purchase right now on their website: https://suturekits.co.za/ Also featured in this episode: The International...

It’s been a while since we last had a “Coffee with Consultants” episode, where I get the privilege and honour of interviewing a consultant in a specialty to ask them about the perks, pitfalls and perils of their specialty, the decision algorithm that led them to choose it, and what advice they’d pass on to junior doctors who’d like to pursue this path in future. Coming up in today’s episode, I sat down in studio with Dr Bongi Rubushe-Ngwenya, a specialist gynaecologist and obstetrician, to...

This episode we reach a significant milestone - our 50th Full-length episode of the podcast. Thank you for your incredible support so far. Coming up in today’s episode, I sat down in studio with a fellow medical podcaster who is quickly becoming a good friend: Danroe Oosthuizen, a 3rd year medical student at the University of Pretoria, and host of the Medically Inclined Podcast, to discuss some of the myths and misconceptions medical students and members of the public have about studying a...

Coming up in today’s episode, we have a really thought-provoking interview with a social architect for positive change in South Africa, who launched an incredible NGO and mobile clinic initiative [Rhiza Babuyile] to drive better access to quality healthcare in South Africa and to reduce systemic inequality. We also have a dive into the annals of medical history to get you thinking laterally about the cost of innovation and discovery in medicine and invite you to share your thoughts on the...

In today’s episode, I sat down with Stefan Bothma and Werner Hattingh, the founders of Money & Medicine, financial advisors who specialise in assisting final year medical students and young health professionals to plan their financial future and lay a foundation early on to achieve their financial goals. We’re discussing common mistakes that newly-qualified interns, and even other ranks of doctors, can make in their finances and other areas of their lives. This is a topical episode, and...

Ultrasound imaging has the potential to change the landscape of access to care in South Africa. It's relatively cheap, non-irradiating, offers imaging in real-time, and can be used in a variety of settings, including the emergency department. Having spent the past month in the ED at my base hospital, I asked one of the EM registrars who is also an instructor in point-of-care ultrasound with the Emergency Medicine Society of South Africa (EMSSA), Dr Marcus Kruger, to sit across from me and...

What is it about the competitive nature of medical school, academic research, and vying for ever-dwindling numbers of posts that make junior doctors so unkind to one another? We're all on a journey of personal and professional development, and in this Espresso Shots episode we're talking about respecting our colleagues qualifications, intelligence and humanity - in other words: Just be 'LEKKER'! This episode is not directed at any one person, incident or specialty in particular, so if you...

In this episode, we welcome two incredible guests: Dr Nokukhanya Khanyile-Lenake & Mr Romulen Pillay, to discuss the priorities and perspectives of South African healthcare leaders and healthcare professionals, as revealed in the Future Health Index. You can download the Philips Future Health Index Report 2023 for South Africa at the URL: ⁠https://bit.ly/FHISA23 About our guests: Dr. Nokukhanya Khanyile-Lenake is a paediatrics registrar rotating in the public hospitals affiliated with...