Intern doc Ndhlovu is ready for the challenge

POLOKWANE – She is one of the 2022 cohort of 524 medical interns who have been appointed by the Department of Health at various institutions across the province.

Nikiwe is based in Mankweng and explained that the past few weeks in Limpopo has been an overwhelming and difficult transition, but that she is ready for the challenge.

“The language barrier is the most difficult because I am originally from Rustenburg in the North West and a Tswana speaker. The difference in the environment also gets to me at times, because it is not as easy to get around in Limpopo as it is back home or in Gauteng. I am slowly adjusting with the help of my colleagues,” she told Polokwane Observer at the orientation ceremony held at Bolivia Lodge last Thursday.

Nikiwe moved to Limpopo a few weeks ago after she completed her studies at the Sefako Makgato Health Sciences University after she spent the first three years of her studies in Cuba. “It was a difficult transition when I studied in Cuba. I only got through it by thinking of the impact I would be able to make once I was back home. That and constantly calling my family helped me get through it,” she adds.

Nikiwe says she wants patients to see her as human first, and then as a kind doctor who always gives her best.

She says she tries to explain the diagnosis to her patients and in simple terms what the medication or treatment prescribed will help them with.

Nikiwe loves the internal medicine and paediatric sides of the medical field and hopes to specialise in either one of them in the future. “Anyone who considers a career in medicine should know that it is not all glitz and glamour, and a lot of hard work and long hours. You need to emotionally prepare yourself because it is not an easy ride. I would advise them to ask to shadow a doctor before they enrol in the course, so that they get a clear understanding of what the job entails,” she concluded.