The Albertina and Walter Sisulu Institute of Ageing in Africa (IAA) offers innovative education and training programmes and opportunities to undergraduate medical students, registrars in internal medicine, and undergraduate and graduate research students in health sciences and social sciences.
Preparing future leaders in geriatric medicine in Africa
The University of Cape Town has a proud and longstanding commitment to teaching and advancing Geriatric Medicine. The William Slater Chair of Geriatric Medicine at UCT was the first endowed chair in the subspecialty in South Africa.
Strong clinical programmes deliver comprehensive interdisciplinary care to older persons with physical and cognitive impairment. Clinical care is rendered primarily at Groote Schuur Hospital (a tertiary hospital), GJ Jooste Hospital (a secondary hospital in Manenberg) and Victoria Hospital (a secondary hospital in Wynberg), as well as at other hospitals and community sites in the Cape Peninsula.
Promoting functional independence is a primary goal of UCT’s Division of Geriatric Medicine. It places as a great an emphasis on health promotion and disease prevention as it does on disease management.
Medical students
The education of medical students in Geriatric Medicine is a high priority of the Education Programme. Experience in the subspecialty increases students’ interest in Geriatric Medicine and ensures that every graduate is expertly trained in the special care needs of older patients. An attachment to an outpatient clinic for final-year students and a two-week rotation in Geriatric Medicine have been introduced for all undergraduate medical students.
Registrars in Internal Medicine
Registrars in Internal Medicine at UCT have a 12-week rotation through Geriatric Medicine. Some registrars subsequently choose Geriatric Medicine as a career specialty and complete specialist training over two years in the division.
Research students
Undergraduate and postgraduate students in several sub-disciplines in the health sciences and social sciences conduct research projects, individually or in groups, on ageing related topics under supervision of faculty in the IAA. Doctoral and master’s students may be offered placements in the Institute to conduct research as part of degree studies.
Higher degrees
While the IAA does not offer coursework towards higher degrees as such, it invites applications from postgraduate students to conduct studies on ageing and older persons in African settings, in co-operation with faculty in the student’s mother discipline, towards obtaining a master’s degree or a doctoral degree. Interdisciplinary studies are encouraged, and partnerships for this purpose with disciplinary departments within the University and elsewhere can be arranged.
For more information, please contact: Dr Sebastiana Kalula.