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It is not common for a paediatrician to study for a qualification in public health as well. That rare combination, however, ideally positions Dr Nhlanhla Gumede to make a valuable contribution to child health and primary healthcare re-engineering in South Africa.
In 2020, Dr Gumede received an Academic Fellowship Award from the Discovery Foundation to complete his master’s degree in public health. His thesis is on the conditions influencing how district clinical specialist teams do their work in KwaZulu-Natal.
“I was the only paediatrician in my master’s in public health class,” he says, and adds that the course attracts students from all health-related disciplines.
From rural KwaZulu-Natal to specialising in paediatrics
Dr Gumede was born in the rural community of Ozwathini in the iLembe district in KwaZulu-Natal. He attended local schools and matriculated at Nkosibomvu Secondary School in Tongaat, on the north coast of the province. He studied at the University of KwaZulu-Natal and qualified as a doctor in 2001.
But the boys in a neighbouring informal settlement in Durban don’t think of him as a doctor – he is the guy who is involved in organising the soccer games for them. Dr Gumede is married, and he and his wife have three children.
“I don’t have lots of free time between working, studying and training students, but I do enjoy jogging and gardening. I am also involved in church outreach activities, and the handing out of food parcels in surrounding communities during the COVID-19 lockdown,” Dr Gumede says.
A calling for public healthcare
It was in 2013, while he was studying and specialising in paediatrics, that Dr Gumede developed an interest in child health and public health.
“I subsequently registered for a master’s degree in public health with the University of KwaZulu-Natal. I completed my course work and was due to start my research project,” Dr Gumede adds.
He says the primary healthcare re-engineering strategy in South Africa is of particular interest to him. “I personally observed some of the challenges facing the district clinical specialist teams and decided to do my research on the specific conditions that influenced the way these teams worked in KwaZulu-Natal in 2019 and 2020. I am hoping that my research will help health professionals at facility and community levels,” he explains.
Each district has one team consisting of seven specialists. By helping these teams to function better, Dr Gumede’s work strongly aligns with the Discovery Foundation’s objectives:
- To train specialists in rural areas
- To develop academic medicine and research centres
- To increase the number of sub-specialists in South Africa to meet the country’s healthcare needs.
Strengthening interventions in primary healthcare and communities
“I was extremely grateful when I heard that I had been given this award,” Dr Gumede says. “It came at a time that I was in desperate need of funding for my research project, and this really rescued me.”
Dr Gumede works as a paediatrician in the eThekwini district clinical specialist team in KwaZulu-Natal and is involved in training undergraduate medical students. He has also worked as a paediatrician at King Edward VIII Hospital in eThekwini.
“With my current position as the district clinical specialist team’s paediatrician in eThekwini, my acquired skills will benefit health professionals at health facility and community levels, as our work cuts across all levels of healthcare,” he concludes. “With primary healthcare re-engineering, there is much greater emphasis on strengthening interventions at both primary healthcare and community levels.”
This post and content is sponsored, written and provided by Discovery.
