Departmental academic review

STAFF & EQUITY PROFILES

The current equity profile of 20 staff members includes 2 white males, 5 white females, 2 African females, 8 coloured females and 2 Indian females. Aside from the Director who took up his post in 2010 as well as 4 out of the 5 incumbent Honorary Lecturers, all PASS and academic staff recruitment processes in the past 8 years have brought in staff members from designated groups, in keeping with the UCT employment equity targets and mission. The Directorate has strived to build a diverse, high quality staff profile as well as an academic staff profile which promotes equal opportunity, encourages development and adds value to the teaching experience of a diverse student population.

5 honorary lecturers have been employed since 2008 and contributed to the objectives of teaching students the key principles of PHC. Dr Feng Chao Lin imparted his knowledge on complementary healing and taught students key PHC principles in community sites including appropriate referral between the domains of biomedical and complementary practice; an understanding of culture and bio-psychosocial factors; health promotion; and evidence-based practice. Acupuncture has been shown by WHO to be the most affordable and effective form of primary treatment in poor countries. He lectured to 2^nd and 3rd year MBChB and physiotherapy students on Chinese medicine and practices, and convened Acupuncture & Medicine SSMs for the duration of his honorary lectureship.
Dr Peter Bock was a strong advocate of the PHC approach coordinating the 4^th year Public Health programme and contributing substantially to the MBChB semester 3-5 Design Team by lecturing, providing resource materials, designing assessments, sharing his problem-based learning methods skills, and assisting in the teaching of PHC principles in the 4^th-year General Medicine block at GF Jooste hospital.
Dr Ben Gaunt, the Clinical Manager of Zithulele Hospital - a remote district hospital in the Eastern Cape - and Dr Karl le Roux, the Principal Medical Officer have together been powerful role-models for students with respect to delivering primary care services, leadership and teaching, and their understanding of the PHC approach. They have addressed staff and students on rural health and presented the 4^th year MBChB rural health block seminars, highlighting the challenges and rewards of working at the rural coalface, thereby promoting the agenda of PHC in the faculty.
Dr Rob Baum is an experienced academic in the field of dance and movement therapy and has brought in a trans-disciplinary approach to medical teaching. She has contributed to the Directorate publications output in the areas of dance movement therapy, transgenerational trauma and health, and the transformation of the body through art praxis.