What is your current appointment in the Department of Medicine at UCT/GSH?

I am an Infectious Diseases Fellow in the Division of Infectious Diseases and HIV Medicine at Groote Schuur Hospital, University of Cape Town. 

Is your chosen field of specialization (Infectious Diseases) a result of long-term strategy or happy circumstance? (Or both)

I became interested in infectious diseases as an intern. During my community service year, I was mentored by health care workers that were passionate about helping people living with HIV.  This paved the way to becoming a medical officer in a large HIV clinic and subsequently coming to the University of Cape Town to begin my registrar time in internal medicine

Your enjoyment of teaching and skills development is evident. Can you tell us more about this? Is this your personal preference or do you derive equal satisfaction from clinical service and research? Or does separating these components not sit comfortably with you?

I gain equal satisfaction from being able to help patients, teach students and do research. Separating these entities is difficult and to be able to best serve your patients, colleagues and students, one needs to be able to keep up with current literature. What you learnt 10 years ago may not hold true for what is happening now.

What are the most persistent challenges that face the next generation of clinical scientists and is there light on the horizon?

Unfortunately, COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a lot of emotional stress to many people and I have yet to meet a health care worker that has not been scarred in some form from the pandemic.

We all need to be cognisant that it has been a difficult time on so many levels. Some of our younger colleagues may not have been exposed to certain sections of studying as an undergraduate, or junior doctors may not have been exposed to certain diseases,  so ‘gaps’ in knowledge will become evident.  But being aware of this will hopefully allow better communication between all levels and, importantly, increased support of each other.

In your time away from work, what interests do you pursue?

I enjoy trail running, hiking ,and taking my faithful 20 year old mountain bike on the trails. Yes, it still works with the odd need for some roadside repairs.

What would you tell the Tari of 15 years ago, if there was the opportunity?

Do whatever you do with passion and resilience, but don’t forget hard work still requires time to spend with family and friends. Work, and a life of eternal learning will always be there, but family and friends may not.