Elective Stories

Abstract

For my senior elective, I wanted to go abroad and experience medicine in a completely different setting than the UK. As I am interested in orthopaedics, this led to me applying for an elective at the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa. I had heard wonderful things from previous SSC and Elective supervisors about the fantastic experience in South Africa, after a bit of research I decided that Tygerberg Hospital in Cape Town seemed like the ideal destination.

I also had other more personal motivations for pursuing an elective in South Africa, as Cape Town holds a very special place in my own family history. During the Second World War, my Great-Grandfather was posted to Cape Town with the Fleet Air Arm as an aircraft engineer. Here, he met and married my Great-Grandmother, originally from Muizenberg (A beachside town to the south of Cape Town). Before my trip I was able to do extensive ancestral research and was able to visit some of the areas where she grew up and lived, allowing me to experience the culture she left behind in 1944.

Entering Tygerberg Hospital for the first time was very daunting. The hospital campus is the size of a small village and is the second largest hospital in South Africa - with 1899 beds. I was welcomed to the department with the 7:30 trauma meeting, where all the orthopaedic trauma patients admitted in the last day were discussed, and a surgical plan was formed for each.

The 24hr emergency theatre list from the day and night before was also discussed, with the registrars presenting each case to the team of consultants. After this I would head to theatres, finding a different list to scrub in with every day.

 I was also able to shadow one of the registrars during their 24hr call shifts. Due to the high volume of trauma presenting to the hospital, there is an emergency orthopaedic theatre that runs 24/7, where surgeons can work through the backlog of trauma built up from the previous day. Outwith the hospital I had time to explore Cape Town as a city. Cape Town is a beautiful city with a vibrant cultural scene. There are regular tours to Robbin Island, a poignant activity that I feel is crucial in understanding the Apartheid era and inequality faced by so many South African Citizens. I would also thoroughly recommend a walk down Kloof Street, and a venture on the Table Mountain Cable Car, as well as surfing on Muizenberg Beach. Also, a trip to Cape Town is not complete without visiting the African penguin colony on Boulders Beach! The Western Cape is famous for its winemaking, and there were plenty of opportunities to explore the beautiful vineyards on the Franschhoek Wine Tram.