Winner of the prestigious Pierre Jacques Rural Doctor of the Year Award, Dr Kolawole Adigun, describes himself as a ‘citizen of the world and a proud Nigerian by accident’, with a passion for medicine and rural communities. According to Dr Liz Gatley, winner of the Eastern Cape Rural Doctor of the Year Award, the possibility of becoming a rural doctor never really featured in her career plans until three years ago when she started her community service at Zithulele Hospital in the Eastern Cape.
The awards are given annually by the Rural Doctors Association of Southern Africa (RuDASA) to recognise the contributions of doctors who work in rural communities – often under extremely challenging conditions.
The accidental Nigerian
His nomination for the award came as quite a surprise, said Dr Adigun, who works at Bethal Hospital in Mpumalanga. He was unaware that he had been nominated and he still has no idea who, in fact, nominated him for the award.
Sponsored by the HIV Clinician’s Society and Africa Health Placements, Dr Adigun received the prestigious award for the HIV counselling and testing (HCT) campaign he launched in the Govan Mbeki municipal area. In line with government policy, he developed a blueprint of HIV/TB community-oriented primary care where the community takes responsibility for the campaign. He consulted widely and was able to mobilise the whole community to take ownership of the campaign that targets health workers as well. Through this initiative, many lives were saved, including those of members of the healthcare profession.
Dr Adigun, who completed his MBChB degree at Obafemi Awolowo University (Nigeria) in 1991, trained as a specialist in haematology and blood transfusion at the National Postgraduate Medical College and completed his postgraduate studies at the College of Medicine, University of Lagos. He came to SA in 2004 and completed a four-year training programme in family medicine at the University of Pretoria.
Making an impact
He opted to work in a rural community because, he explained, he wants to be able to measure his impact on health over time.
“I can visit patients in their community, sit down with them, know their health problems and help them to understand their conditions and treatment. I regard myself as a citizen of the world, not just a Nigerian, because I do not see any difference in the human race. We are just located in different parts of world by accident of our birth and colour. We need to realise this in order for us to make an impact on human life no matter where we find ourselves. I do not see any differences between my patients no matter what race, gender, colour and religion they are,” said Dr Adigun.
The doctor who bakes birthday cakes
Dr Liz Gatley, the Eastern Cape’s Rural Doctor of the Year with one of 'her babies'
Asked to describe Dr Gatley, a colleague said that she is known for her willingness to go the extra mile and to bake cakes for patients who are in hospital for extended periods on their birthdays, cook boerewors for severe burn patients who were getting insufficient protein from the hospital kitchen or play Santa Claus and hand out gifts.
Dr Gatley completed her training at the University of Cape Town in 2006 and did her two years’ internship and community service year in Zithulele.
She confessed that she didn’t plan to stay in rural health. However, a lot changed during her community service year and she started to enjoy the variety that rural medicine offers.
She added that the 147-bed hospital has an excellent clinical team, anchored by some long-term staff members, who provide stability and support. The patients are also ‘incredible’ and appreciate the care that they offer, enthused Dr Gatley.
“It is wonderful for us to get to know particular patients, follow them up and watch them improve. I saw some miraculous recoveries, particularly in the ARV clinic, which shows that one can make a real difference to the lives of some of the poorest and most vulnerable people in our country.”
Zithulele village where Dr Gatley works
Apart from caring for the patients in the hospital, the paediatric ward and an ‘ever-increasingly busy’ maternity ward, staff also service 10 clinics in the area. “One of our strengths is the multidisciplinary team we have that includes doctors, physiotherapists, occupational and speech therapists, an audiologist, dentists and pharmacists. We work well as a team, often consulting on patients to try to provide holistic care,” explained Dr Gatley. Insufficient staffing and a lack of human resource processes plus difficulty in procurement of supplies, including essential drugs, are just some of the problems that they have to deal with every day. Her approach to medicine is to work hard, know when to ask for help and to always try to improve oneself and keep up to date.
“I also think it is so important that we learn to see patients as people, in a context, and not just as another ‘case’. It is a challenge and compassion fatigue is a very real danger, particularly because of the high levels of suffering we see every day, but the appreciation you get from patients and the difference one can make in relieving suffering makes it more than worthwhile,” she concluded.
No comments yet.