Elective Details:
Subject: Orthopaedic Surgery
Supervisors: Dr R., Dr H., Dr G., Dr H.,
Dr Christoff Marais
Location: Victoria Hospital, Wynberg
Duration: 16 weeks (14/06/2010 � 03/10/2010)
I did an elective placement for 4 months during my final year at Victoria Hospital. I worked in the orthopaedic department from June to October 2010. �Vic� is a small public hospital in Wynberg in the southern suburbs of Cape Town.
During this time my responsibilities included daily ward rounds, assisting with praparing patients for theatre, tutorials and bedside teaching, three orthopaedics clinics per week and daily theatre list.
There were a fracture clinic on Mondays and two cold clinics on Thursdays and Fridays with a range of pathologies from simple ganglions, carpal tunnel syndrome, to more complex ligament injuries, and spine pathologies encompassing the entire spectrum of orthopaedics. Tuesdays and Wednesdays theatre all day with trauma and orthopaedics surgery (all types of fractures, carpal tunnel release, acromioplasty, ACL reconstruction, TKR, THR, lumbar discectomy, hand and foot surgery, soft tissue injuries).
After a short time I had own patients, from which I took the histories and did the examinations. Under supervision I prepared treatment plans, did joint injections and applied plaster of paris. I got an introduction in orthopaedics ultrasound during the clinic days (Thanks to Dr Hassan!). During my time I learned to perform several operations, including amongst others performing DHS fixation for neck of femur fractures and ankle fracture ORIF. All in all I learned so much and made tremendous progress!
This elective provided me with the opportunity to travel to South Africa, and it was the first time I had travelled by myself. The staff at Vic made me feel welcome and part of the clinical team from the first day. They knew I was travelling alone and were always available if I had had any problems. I learned a lot about orthopaedic surgery and about working as a doctor in South Africa.
The whole experience has allowed me to become more independent and well-rounded as a person. I had an amazing elective, I am very grateful for this once in a lifetime opportunity and hopefully one day I will visit Cape Town again! Thanks to all who made my time there one of the best in my life!
