The Dr Coffee Podcast

We learn so much in internship! Hi, and welcome to this week’s episode of the Dr coffee podcast. Your weekly blend of motivation, encouragement, education and insight into all things medicine, for junior doctors and medical students in South Africa. The title of today’s episode is “The story so far: lessons from being an intern." This is our 1st episode featuring our social media queen, Dr Nox Mpa...

Hi, and welcome to this week’s episode of the Dr coffee podcast. Your weekly blend of motivation, encouragement, education and insight into all things medicine, for junior doctors and medical students in South Africa. In this week’s Coffee with consultants feature I had the great privilege of interviewing Dr Mario Rankin, representing his specialty of Orthopaedic Surgery. Dr Rankin is a consultant...

In this week’s Coffee with Consultants feature, my guest is Dr Yvette Lazarus, a specialist physician and Rheumatologist currently in private practice in Sandton, Johannesburg. Dr Yvette completed her undergraduate medical degree at Wits in 2005, and had a slightly non-linear path to registrar time in internal medicine. She excelled in her FCP exams and qualified as a physician in 2014, and comple...

In this week’s coffee with consultants feature, I interviewed Dr Alicia Porter from the Child and Family unit in the department of Psychiatry at the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital, about her path in medicine and her choice to specialise in Psychiatry. Dr Porter is passionate about all things mental health; she's a mental health advocate, and she is also one of the founding members...

Professor Ryan Blumenthal is a senior Specialist Forensic Pathologist and Associate Professor in the Department of Forensic Medicine at the University of Pretoria (UP). He has published widely in the fields of lightning, suicide and other areas involving the pathology of trauma. He published his first article in 2004 and has since published more than 29 articles in the scientific literature. Prof...

Welcome to Episode 23! Since this week marks the start of the academic year for many students, or the start of their clinical rotations, and because the new interns and comm serve doctors are finding their feet, this week's episode is all about setting up healthy habits and behaviours for success! Many of the keys presented are things you might know, but life is often not about what we know, but r...

My guest on the podcast this week is Dr Nishlin Naidoo, a consultant in the Department of Surgery at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital (CMJAH) and a Fellow in Colorectal Surgery at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa. Dr Naidoo unpacks his adventures in medicine as an intern and community service doctor (apparently his memory only starts where medical school ends!) with...

Welcome to the 1st episode of the Dr Coffee Podcast for 2023!  We wish a happy and blessed New year to all of our listeners and followers. Whatever adventure 2023 has in store for you, I pray you have incredible success and above all enjoy it! In this week’s episode, I interview a dynamic young brother and sister duo about health system innovation, studying medicine abroad, and the wait for intern...

In this week's Coffee with Consultants feature, I interview Professor Laurel Baldwin-Ragaven, professor in the department of Family Medicine & Primary Care at the University of Witwatersrand (South Africa), as well as the Clinical Head in the department of Family Medicine for the Gauteng Department of Health (Southern Districts). Professor Laurel graduated from medical school at MacGill Un...

In this week’s episode, we feature a specialty requested by a lot of this podcast's listeners. The 17th of November each year marks World Prematurity Day. It’s a day to raise awareness of the causes and complications of preterm birth and the concerns of preterm babies and their families worldwide. Approximately 15 million babies are born preterm each year, accounting for about one in 10 of all bab...

In this episode, I sat down with Bertie Herbst, the current president of the Biokinetics Association of South Africa (BASA) , to discuss his path and the importance of allied health professionals to clinical practice of medicine.  What I learnt is that Biokinetics is a highly advanced and scientific discipline that practices evidence-based medicine. Far too often, junior doctors and medical s...

Welcome to episode 17! On today’s episode we take a bit of a detour from clinical medicine to discuss the tricky world of medical protection, financial services, and insurance. My guest on the podcast today is Arlene Mulder, the MD of Dire Wolf, a financial services practice that aims to protect and provide insurance solutions to healthcare professionals. Arlene was actually accepted to medical sc...

In this week’s "coffee with consultants" feature, I have the immense privilege and honour of interviewing another ‘heavy hitter’ - My guest this week is Professor Thifhelimbilu Luvhengo, Head of the Department of Surgery at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital (CMJAH). During his career, Professor Luvhengo has been, a member of the College of Surgeons of the Colleges of Medicine of Sout...

Welcome to episode 15! In this week’s coffee with consultants, I share the wonderful conversation I had with Professor Shastra Bhoora, a specialist in Obstetrics and Critical Care at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital. I learnt that working in an ICU is not a specialty on its own, but rather requires you to have done some advanced training in specialising in another area in medicine....

Welcome to Episode 14! In this week's "Coffee with Consultants" feature I sat down with Dr Johann Lamprecht, a specialist ophthalmologist in private practice, to discuss the highlights of his specialty and his path in medicine.  What I learnt is that Ophthalmology is a highly sought-after specialty, and many doctors spend a lot of time in MO posts before registrar posts become available. Dr Johann...

Welcome to Episode 13! In this week’s episode, I had the opportunity to interview not one but two physician fellows specialising in Endocrinology in the department of internal medicine at my base hospital, Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital. I’m sure when you hear 'endocrinology' some of the first associations you make are with common condition such as diabetes, thyrotoxicosis and hyp...

Welcome to Episode 12! In this week’s “Coffee with consultants” feature, we’re going off-brand a bit and interviewing a registrar in our featured specialty. Nonetheless, this week’s episode features a specialty that so many of you have requested that I simply could not wait! And so, I’m very pleased to introduce this week’s episode, which is all about the path to specialising in paediatric surgery...

This week’s episode focuses on the next level of junior doctor years with conversation and reflection on Community Service. I was privileged to spend time with Dr Naeem Vallee, who was an intern at Bara when I first began clinical rotations at Wits Medical School. Dr Naeem is well-loved by his colleagues, seniors and students alike, and well-known for his use of fountain pens in his clerking notes...

Welcome to Episode 10! With around 100 days left (!) before this year’s students become qualified doctors, this week’s episode is all about how to have an adventure in internship. Loaded with practical advice pooled from dozens of junior doctors, the information included in this episode is especially for those about to take the ride that is internship. I hope you find it useful and enjoy it! Be su...

On this week’s episode, I grabbed a post-call coffee and spent time chatting with Dr Vindana Chibabhai, a consultant clinical microbiologist at the National Health Laboratory Services (NHLS) at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital. Dr Vindana has a keen research interest in antimicrobial resistance, antimicrobial stewardship, healthcare associated infections and invasive fungal infectio...

In this episode, I had the privilege to sit down for a post-call coffee and a chat with Dr Rob Kieser. Dr Rob is perhaps best-known for his antics on social media and his obsession with coffee, his witty take on life, and importantly for this podcast, his outspoken views on the pressure to specialise that many medical students and junior doctors feel. His views have led some to even call him an "a...

Dr Naadiyah Laher is a Fellow in trauma surgery, currently working at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital. A self-described "Bara baby", she completed her junior years in & around Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital, before continuing on and completing her five years of registrar time in General Surgery. As mentioned, she is now a consultant surgeon and Fellow in trauma surgery, a...

In this week’s “Coffee with Consultants” feature, we hear from doctor Jarrod Zamparini, about his path in medicine and his passion for the lesser known specialty of Obstetric medicine. Dr Jarrod Zamparini is a specialist physician at the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital and Wits University in the department of infectious diseases. He is also the founding head of the department of ob...

In this week’s “Coffee with Consultants” feature, we hear from Professor Graham Paget, about his path in medicine and what it takes to be a specialist physician in nephrology. Professor Graham Paget is a consultant Nephrologist at the Donald Gordon Medical Centre and Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital. His daily work is concentrated on the management of patients with end-stage and chr...

In this week’s “Coffee with Consultants” feature, we hear from Professor Adam Mahomed, about his path in medicine and what it takes to specialise in internal medicine and gastroenterology. Professor Adam Mahomed is a Specialist Gastroenterologist involved in the pre and post care of liver transplant patients. He is a past president of South African Gastroenterology Society and the head of the depa...