After obtaining her degree in journalism at the University of Johannesburg in 2009, Mkhwanazi kicked off her working experience by doing an internship with the Department of Social Development in Pretoria.
During that time she served as a media relations intern for about nine months and when the internship finally came to an end, she moved on to work at SASSA, working as a grants administrator.
However, she says the urge was still there to go back into communications, so after a few months she left.
The calling led her to working in the SAPS head office where she served as a communications officer, dealing with internal communications from 2012 to 2015.
In January, she then arrived to join the Pholosong Hospital family.
Mkhwanazi says she is looking forward to the challenge of working within a community and is excited about what the job entails.
“I am looking forward to this job as I will not just be dealing with communications, but will also be working on events and getting to interact with both the staff and the community we serve.
“Currently I am also furthering my studies in a development communications course, which will really assist me, as it teaches about better communication with the community and learning how to involve the community in developmental issues affecting them and in decision making instead of just informing them.
“So this will definitely help me do better in my current position with interacting with our clients,” she says.
For Mkhwanazi, this job also entails dealing with stakeholders and ensuring that there is a positive relationship between the hospital, community and other interest groups.
“I hope that in my time of office, community members and our patients will be able to come to us for assistance and know that we are here for them.
“Any time they are unhappy or have compliments that will help grow or better the hospital, we would like to know about it.
“We also want them to feel that they have a say and that if they have any issues they are concerned about, they are able to come to us so we can help them understand the procedures of the hospital so they can get better service,” she says.
