The Faculty of Health and Wellness Sciences is celebrating the success of three doctoral graduates this week.

Among them are two academics from the Faculty, Lizel Hudson and Merlisa Kemp who will both be awarded the degree: Doctor of Radiography during tomorrow’s digital graduation.

Hudson, is the Work-Integrated Learning and Language Coordinator in the faculty and her thesis is titled: Teaching and learning threshold concepts in radiation physics for professional practice.

“The research aim was to contribute to an understanding of threshold concepts in the first-year radiation physics curriculum and pedagogical approaches used for the purpose of preparation towards competent and safe clinical practice,” she said.

Kemp is a lecturer and the BSc Diagnostic Ultrasound Programme Co-ordinator in the Department of Medical Imaging and Therapeutic Sciences. Her study is titled: Ultrasound investigation of risk factors for extracranial vascular pathology in patients with Multiple Sclerosis (MS).

“The most significant finding which indicates the positive correlation between vascular health of the major neck arteries and MS disability, means that MS persons with greater disability are not only at risk of developing carotid atherosclerosis, but are also at increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Therefore, early therapeutic interventional measures should be implemented to reduce extracranial atherosclerosis which will slow down progression of MS disability and reduce cardiovascular disease risk. Ultimately, the quality of life and life expectancy of MS persons will be improved,” said Kemp.

The third graduate, Toyin Alabi, will be awarded the degree: Doctor of Philosophy: Biomedical Sciences. Her thesis is titled: Effect of Anchomanes difformis extract on biochemical and histological parameters in streptozotocin-induced diabetes and diabetic complications.

“This study was able to establish the antidiabetic and hypolipidemic potentials of Anchomanes difformis. Furthermore, this study was able to demonstrate the ability of Anchomanes difformis to ameliorate and delay the progression of diabetic complications in the heart, kidney, liver, testes and epididymis,” she said

Alabi, an academic tutor, had to overcome several hurdles on her way to achieving her degree. “My doctorate degree is a dream fulfilled, however not without hurdles, but the most important and rewarding thing I learnt is to keep going, keep working and keep harnessing all the resources provided and available till you get to the finishing line. Despite the personal challenges I had such as a broken ankle in 2018 which kept me off my work for two months, and a dislocated elbow in 2019, I kept pushing and wasn't going to give in, this has brought to me my dream of 15 years: a PhD graduate.”

Written by Ilse Fredericks
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The Department of Nursing Science is leading an initiative which aims to strengthen efforts to ensure the gradual safe return of staff and students to campuses.

The project has provided training, conducted via Microsoft Teams, for Campus Protection Services (CPS) as well as heads of departments and faculties and cleaning services.

“The focus was mainly on personal safety, wearing of PPE (Personal Protective Equipment), access control and measuring temperature,” said Prof Karien Jooste, Head of the Department of Nursing Science. Jooste drew up a training programme for nurse educators who are experts in Occupational Health to provide the training. The training was coordinated and facilitated by the department’s Natalie Copeling and her team. 

The project was conducted in liaison with Human Capital: Learning and Development and Melanie Marais, Head of HIV/AIDS Unit as well as Campus Health Clinics.
CPS and cleaning staff were provided with information specifically tailored for their role in the processes.
According to Jooste, training of the CPS staff focused on the part that these staff will play in the screening of temperatures. “Training also included the use of interpersonal skills to address the possible fears and uncertainty that staff may have in relation to both the screening process and the return to campus within the constraints of our ‘new normal’”.

She added that the training for cleaning services staff will reinforce the way of cleaning, where to clean specifically and the chemicals used for the cleaning and disinfecting processes. Information sessions are also offered to all CPUT staff to provide a clearer idea of how to prepare the campus for the return of staff and students as well as what to expect on return.
“Participating in training is a constructive way to give back to the community and is in line with the slogan of the department: Carers for the future!” said Jooste.

The initiative comes as the department marks the Year of Nurse and the Midwife. This year has been designated as the Year of the Nurse and the Midwife by the World Health Organisation to mark the bicentenary of the birth of the founder of modern nursing, Florence Nightingale and to recognise the critical contribution nurses make to global health.

Marais said training for peer educators in residences had also been provided.

The Nursing Science Department encouraged the CPUT community to continue:

• washing hands regularly
• practising social distancing
• wearing a mask

Written by Ilse Fredericks
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Prof Penelope Engel-Hills’ decades-long contribution to her field has earned her a nomination for the Lifetime Award of the prestigious National Science and Technology Foundation (NSTF)-South 32 Awards.

The Acting Dean of the Faculty of Health and Wellness Sciences started her radiography studies as a 17-year-old at Groote Schuur Hospital and, while she may have taken different paths along the way, has never veered away from the health sciences.

Engel-Hills is a dual qualified radiographer (diagnostic imaging and radiation therapy) and over the years completed her Higher Diploma, BSc (Hon) in Medicine (Radiotherapy), MSc In Medicine: Medical Physics, DTech: Radiography Education and PGC: International Research Ethics.

“The qualifications allowed me to contribute to developing radiography degrees and research ethics at my institution. I am appointed as; Interdisciplinary Researcher: Health Sciences with research interests in professional education, medical imaging, radiation therapy, and social transformation,” said Engel-Hills.

“In my community-based research project, I seek community wellbeing by gathering stories of lived experiences and observing responses to violence in society”.

She joined the then Peninsula Technikon as a senior lecturer in 1992 and later became a founding member of CPUT’s Professional Education Research Institute. This group continues to make a contribution to higher education through research on many aspects of professional education.

She enjoys being a part of developing the next generation of health care practitioners and researcher and especially doing this with a faculty team with “motivated and enthusiastic staff members”.

The National Research Foundation C2-rated researcher has over the years supervised a large number of BTech and postgraduate students. The many accolades she has received during her career include: the Society of Radiographers of South Africa Award for contribution to Radiography in 1992,  the Elsevier Best Paper of the Year Award: Radiation protection in medical imaging (published in Radiogragraphy) in 2006 and Radiography, Official Journal of the College of Radiography: Award of Excellence in Reviewing in recognition of outstanding contribution to the quality of the journal in 2015.

Asked about her career highlights, she replies: “There have been many highlights along the way. But maybe the most satisfying thing is to have found a place where my four passions; professional education, health and wellbeing, ethics and research are able to sit comfortably together and intersect in a cohesive and meaningful way through community-based research.”

• The announcement of the NSTF-South32 Awards finalists will be made during May and the 22nd annual awards function will be in an online format this year. 

Written by Ilse Fredericks
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The Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment is collaborating with the Faculty of Health and Wellness Sciences to manufacture medical ventilators which are much needed in the coronavirus fight.

The manufacturing team is headed by the Director of the Adaptronics Advanced Manufacturing Technology Laboratory (Adaptronics AMTL), Professor Oscar Philander.  Members from Adaptronics AMTL include Technical Manager, Mornay Riddles; Logistics and Operations, Eugene Erfort; Electronics and Mechatronics Technologist, Cyprian Onochi; Mechanical Technologist, Lubabalo Matshoba; Technician, Kerwyn Lategan; Artisan, Romeo Arendse and Department of Mechanical Engineering MTech Student, Tristan Edwards.

Other members are Project Consultant and Faculty of Health and Wellness Sciences Acting Dean, Prof Penelope Engel-Hills, and Bachelor of Emergency Medical Care lecturer Louis Jordaan, who is also a Project Technical Adviser.

Philander says that when a desperate need for ventilators was identified in early April, he started looking at what other people were doing and downloaded and studied open-source designs for these devices.

Prof Marshall Sheldon also urged the Adaptronics AMTL to assist in any way with products to help in the fight against the pandemic. Philander then identified three areas, face shields, face masks, and ventilators.  The team has successfully produced both shields and masks using conventional manufacturing processes. “To date, we’ve finalised the design and manufacturing process for the face shield and handed out sample shields for evaluation purposes.”

He states that about 22 of these went to CPUT security staff while six went to doctors and emergency medical services staff on the front line. “So far the feedback on the shields has been positive and we have produced a stock of 150 face shields. Our prototype mask also underwent a cursory review by a medical doctor and he provided valuable feedback on its operation and use. We are currently prototyping the third variant of the face mask that should be ready for testing in about a week.”

Philander adds that the ventilators they are manufacturing are highly sophisticated lifesaving instruments. “Most of the open-source designs are for systems that mechanically depress AmbuBags or Bag Valve Masks (BVM).

“I decided to focus our work on such a system and contacted Prof Penelope Engel-Hills, requesting assistance in procuring a BVM.”

He states that Jordaan delivered a BVM to the Adaptronics AMTL and gave them a short introduction on how the BVM is used in the field and how it could potentially be used as a substitute ventilator when hospitals are overrun with patients desperately needing assisted breathing devices.

“My team is currently in the third iteration of the design and it was decided that we would minimise the amount of moving parts in the design thus making control of it easier. The design goals include varying the volume of air displacement, as well as varying the inspiration and exhalation rates.”

The Grassy Park born professor who enjoys helping communities says the team is finalising the design and will start prototyping soon.  Once the prototype is complete, the device will be tested in collaboration with the Faculty of Health and Wellness Sciences to obtain its specifications and how it could be used in the field.

“This will be a critical phase of the development due to the complexity of its function. More will be shared once we reach this stage,” he remarks.

Written by Aphiwe Boyce
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It was a proud moment for nursing students when they received their training epaulettes during a recent ceremony on the Bellville campus.

Epaulettes are worn to indicate progress in terms of year levels of study. At the end of training the students qualify as professional nurses with a maroon epaulette and coloured bars indicating specialities.

Professor Karien Jooste, Head of the Department of Nursing Science, opened the ceremony with a message of welcome.

Senior Lecturer Dr Rugira Marie Modeste presented a keynote address and stated that the World Health Organization (WHO) had designated 2020 as the Year of the Nurse and the Midwife.

According to the WHO, this is to mark the bicentenary of the birth of the founder of modern nursing, Florence Nightingale, and to recognise the critical contribution nurses make to global health.

Modeste said the programmes in the Department of Nursing Science followed a person-centred approach and the epaulettes should be worn to remind students to be accountable to their nursing responsibilities.

Lecturer Suveena Singh said it was the first time the department had hosted such an event and epaulettes were issued to a total of 170 first and second-year students.

“The epaulettes make it easier for staff in hospitals to distinguish the students,” she said.

“When you decide to be a nurse it means you are devoting your life to caring for the community.”

Written by Ilse Fredericks
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A conference which empowered young women in higher education with skills such as entrepreneurship, self-defence and personal branding was recently held on the Bellville Campus.

The two-day conference, which was hosted by the HIV/Aids Unit, was attended by approximately 300 female students from universities and TVET Colleges around the Western Cape.
Prof Nomafrench Mbombo, Western Cape Health MEC, told the young women to be wary of risky sexual activities as it could lead to their downfall such as unwanted pregnancies, sexual transmitted infections and abusive relationships.
“Girls are groomed for men’s sexual gratification,” she said.

Mbombo decried the patriarchal environment which raises boys differently from girls and added that young women sometimes feel the pressure to have children in order to please or gain hold over their men and that transactional sex is a common practice these days as women wants to live the good life. 

Acting Dean: Faculty of Health and Wellness Sciences, Prof Penelope Engel-Hills, said she works with communities around issues of gender-based violence. 
“In this country women are not well at the moment and this means that the society at large is ill,” said Engel-Hills.

HEAIDS Project Manager, Alex Semba, said the conference was a platform for the delegates to network with each other.
Semba discussed the programmes that HEAIDS is providing to universities and colleges to address the ‘blessing’ culture in a bid to reduce HIV infections among women between the ages of 15 and 24 by 30%.
He said health and wellness is important in order for higher education institutions to perform their core functions of teaching, research and community engagement. 
During the conference the delegates received goodie bags and spot prizes, and were equipped with a range of skills including personal safety, entrepreneurship and leadership.

Written by Kwanele Butana
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This year the university rolled out its Bachelor of Environmental Health, a four-year programme designed to ensure graduates have the appropriate skills to work as Environmental Health Practitioners.

These specialized practitioners’  tasks are determined by legislation, and the scope of practice ranges from ensuring safe water supplies to communities, conducting health surveillance, disease control, occupational health & safety, food hygiene and community development.

Head of the programme, Prof Izanne Human says Environmental Health is an important field.

“Environmental Health is about preventative health. You are enhancing the quality of life through preventative measures,” she says.

Human says the process to implement the course began several years ago, and today it is the only one of its kind offered at a higher education institution in the Western Cape.

“This course is on par with what is happening internationally. It is also internationally recognized,” she adds.

The course covers a range of specialized areas and its graduates must complete a year of community service before qualifying.

“The job opportunities in this field are wide. You can work for the government, industry or municipalities, as a consultant,” says Human.

Prof De Wet Schutte, a leading researcher in the field and an academic at CPUT, says this well-designed course will “step-up” preventative healthcare in South Africa.

• Applications for 2018 are open. Apply online Bachelor of Environmental Health at: www.cput.ac.za/study/apply 

Written by CPUT News
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A five-year-old “boy” named Jonathan is helping to ensure that Nursing students gain valuable hands-on experience.

Jonathan can speak, blink, turn his head and produce tears, and this lifelike manikin is the latest addition to the Department of Nursing Science’s simulation laboratory.
“He imitates a five-year-old boy, allowing students to practise a number of scenarios,” said lecturer Suveena Singh.

He can be programmed to allow students to monitor his vital signs or to turn blue due to a lack of oxygen.
Singh said: “blood” could also be drawn from his veins while students could also practice IV insertion.”

“We hope that working with Jonathan and the other manikins in our labs will help to ensure that we produce confident and skilled students,” said Singh.

*Note: manikin: a model of the human body, used for teaching medical or art students

mannequin: a large model of a human being, used to show clothes in the window of a shop

Source: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/

Written by Ilse Fredericks
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The Department of Nursing Science kicked off the year on a high note by welcoming the first-ever cohort of students for the new Bachelor of Nursing programme.

Head of the Department, Prof Karien Jooste, said CPUT was one of the first institutions in the country to receive approval from the SA Nursing Council to offer the new four-year degree programme.

“The new programme is focused on general nursing and midwifery with a primary healthcare approach. We will follow a person-centred approach, not just focusing on the patient but also the nurse who needs to empower and manage him or herself in order to treat the patient.”

The first cohort consists of sixty students and an intensive selection process, including interviews, was followed.
Jooste said the Department has also been strengthened with the appointment of five new staff members.

In addition, the Department has also received permission to offer a number of short courses

“We are very excited that we are able to start the new programme in 2020, which has been designated the Year of the Nurse and Midwife by the World Health Organization,” said Jooste.

Written by Ilse Fredericks
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The Nursing Science Department hopes that self-defence classes for first-year students will help to keep the aspiring nurses safe.

The scourge of gender-based violence in the country and a recent attack on a nursing student outside Tygerberg Hospital prompted the Department to act.

“With the national focus on gender-based violence last year, the Department decided that we had to take the lead and help our students to empower themselves,” said lecturer, Suveena Singh.
She said the lessons were offered free of charge as part of the orientation programme for the first-years.

The lessons were presented by Shihan Mike Chong and students were shown basic techniques to vend off an attacker.

Students enjoyed the classes and said they were grateful for the skills they had been equipped with.

“It taught me to always be aware of my surroundings and to protect myself,” said first-year student, Sphesihle Mngomezulu.

Written by Ilse Fredericks
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Below are the exam result publication dates, as released by the Assessment and Graduation Centre.

Written by CPUT News
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From health apps to questioning whether or not South Africa needs ambulances, emergency care practitioners recently spent two days debating topical issues facing the health sector at the third Emergency Care Conference.

The conference took place at the CPUT Bellville campus and was hosted by the Emergency Care Society of South Africa and CPUT’s Department of Emergency Medical Care.

MEC for Health in the Western Cape, Prof Nomafrench Mbombo, says the conference comes at an appropriate time.

Just a day before the conference commenced, emergency care practitioners in the Western Cape took to the street to voice their concerns over their safety. Over the past few months there has been an increase in attacks on emergency care practitioners who attend to emergencies in high risk areas.

Mbombo says an attack on any emergency care practitioner is a direct attack on her.

While Mbombo’s office is working closely with various other stakeholders to address these safety concerns, she says the conference provides the sector with a platform to debate these issues as well to provide input in the changes taking place in the health sector.

During the two day conference issues such as pre-hospital emergency care challenges, professional development and clinical advances were explored.

With a talk titled “Does Africa need ambulances,” Dr Julian Flemming from the Western Cape Department of Health raised concerns over the current emergency medical services.

Flemming says the sector faces various challenges such as ageing fleets, lack of funding and personnel, and full emergency rooms.

Flemming says to alleviate the problems facing overcrowding at emergency rooms, the sector must begin to explore alternative pre-hospital care options.

According to research, Flemming says 25% of patients that contact an ambulance do not need to be transported and treated at a hospital.

“We should look at on scene alternatives for emergency medical ambulance crews attending to patients who do not need to go to a hospital,” he says.

“The emergency rooms are full and we can’t get all the patients in the hospital.”

Dr Melanie Stander, Emergency Medicine Manager at MediClinic South Africa, discussed the future of the emergency medical care sector, which she says will be shaped by the development of health apps and telemetry.

“Patients are going to be empowered,” she says.

However, Stander says given the context in South Africa and the disparities between communities, technology must be used responsibility.

“Technology can help with the integration of services, but we have to be careful about quick fixes,” she says.

Written by Candes Keating
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Provides coverage for the Engineering and Applied Sciences Faculties; the Bellville and Wellington Campuses, and research and innovation news.

Radiography training at CPUT has been given another major boost thanks to the recent acquisition of a R4 million Virtual Environment for Radiotherapy Training (VERT) system.

VERT is currently being used in 21 countries and every radiographer in the United Kingdom is currently trained on the equipment.

The VERT system is housed in a clinical skills lab at CPUT’s Bellville Campus and is the second system to which CPUT students have access . The first VERT was launched at Groote Schuur in September 2015 and is a joint venture between CPUT, UCT and Varian Medical Systems as part of the international Access to Care training program in Africa. The two VERT machines are the only ones of their kind in Africa and will revolutionise the training of cancer specialists in SA and the continent.

VERT creator Prof Andy Beavis says the software mimics real life scenarios and patient profiles allowing students to learn by trial and error without endangering a patient.

“Radiotherapy is a high risk profession and you need to get it right. Learning through making mistakes in a non-dangerous setting equips students in a holistic way,” he says.

Health and Wellness Sciences Dean Prof Dhiro Gihwala says VERT has an important role to play in keeping CPUT abreast with industry standards and enhancing skills and confidence in future radiographers.

“I am proud to say that in one full sweep we have managed to bring our training in radiotherapy to the highest level which bodes well for our students since they are the first in the country to be embarking on a 4-year professional degree,” he says. 

Medical Imaging and Therapeutic Sciences departmental head Alladdin Speelman says VERT brings an element of fun into the classroom.

“It is the ultimate learning tool for millennial learners as they can ‘play’ while solving abstract concepts. It is also a great tool for learning 3-D anatomy and imaging in an interactive, practical format,” he says.

Written by Lauren Kansley
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CPUT is home to leading academics s who are making huge contributions to research.

One such academic is Prof Tandi Matsha, who is the founder and lead researcher at the Cardiometabolic Health Research Unit, which is based at the Bellville Campus.

Matsha, who is also the head of the Department of Biomedical Sciences in the Faculty of Health and Wellness Sciences, is renowned for her work in the field of genetic and environmental risk factors in obesity related diseases. 

CPUT news caught up with her as part of our Extraordinary Women series in honor of Women’s Month.

What do you enjoy most about your job?

I enjoy facilitating and being part of the process of empowering others to succeed.

I also enjoy encouraging others to push themselves to do things that they thought were impossible for them to achieve… and the smile that comes with that is the cherry on top.

Can you point out a career highlight?

In my line of work the obvious highlights, to name a few, would be publications, award of research grants, NRF rating, recognition by my peers in the form of either being invited to review manuscripts or invited to give a plenary session, as well seeing my students to graduation.

However, the major highlights of my career are seeing those that I have guided become successful in their own right. Just recently, my doctoral candidate, who was also my undergrad and master’s student, was selected for a post-doctoral fellowship at Cambridge, London.

What do you attribute your success to?

Success was never my goal. The reason I am here today is because I realised my potential and I did not want it to just remain a potential. I wanted my potential to be made into something tangible. I wanted to take that potential and make it kinetic.

The ability to overcome diversity, the determination to stand for my beliefs coupled with instilled values of Ubuntu have made it possible for me to focus and achieve my objectives.  I am also inspired by my children to succeed and I believe that through my example, they too will find their own success.

Most importantly, I attribute my achievements to the strong belief that whatever stage I am in my life, that is where God wants me to be. Sometimes it’s not what I desire, but that makes it easy to accept.

Do you have any words of advice for the generation of women behind you?

Do not let go of the qualities that make you a woman when you enter the workplace. Those qualities are what make you unique and are needed for your progression in society.

Written by Candes Keating
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Provides coverage for the Engineering and Applied Sciences Faculties; the Bellville and Wellington Campuses, and research and innovation news.

Everyone has the potential to innovate.

The BTech Dental Technology class recently proved that thinking out of the box is doable.

Annually the class is tasked by their lecturer, Abduraghman Latief, to design and construct a cost effective machine that plays a crucial role in the day to day activities of dental technologist.

This year the class, who teamed up in groups, came up with several innovative devices, with some having the potential to be patented.

Student Jodi Kock and his team manufactured a steaming device they named “Extreme Steam” from basic materials, including a metal box and parts of a cappuccino machine.

Jodi explains that steam cleaner is a practical devise that can be used at all stages during the manufacturing of a dental appliance. However, he says many dental technologists still rely on using a sterilized bristle brush to clean the models or dental appliances during the manufacturing process.

“Whenever a dental appliance is finished, you have to boil it off to remove the wax residue. This is where our device comes in to play,” he says.

“An affordable steam cleaner is very practical because it is easy to use.”

Chantal Isaacs, Buyani Masala and Santino Orso put their ideas together and manufactured a cost-effective smart polish electrolytic bath, using basic materials such as glass and a standard timer.

The machine is used to polish dental applications and relies on an electro-chemical process to get the job done.

Currently machines that perform this task retail up to R20 000, but the trio’s device cost just over a R 1000 to construct.

Monique van der Merwe and her team opted to recreate a cost-effective version of an electroplating machine that is used to gold plate as well as polish certain dental appliances, such as cobalt chrome.

“By introducing new and innovative ideas and concepts to existing ideas, we can improve on the manner in which we produce dental prosthesis,” says Monique.

Thierry Bazire and his team introduced a Bunsen burner using the process of electrolysis to convert H2O into Hydrogen and Oxygen molecules which produces a hot flame.

Latief says he is impressed with this year’s projects.

“I think every year the level increases,” he says.

Latief says it’s important for students in this industry to be aware of innovation and technology and the role it can play in improving their services to patients.

He says such projects also broadens students’ horizons and stirs their’ interest in Research.

IMPRESSIVE: Heindro Gagiona, Monique van der Merwe and Ideon Burnett designed a cost-effective version of an electroplating machine that is used to gold plate and polish certain dental appliances

STEAM CLEAN: This team of Dental Technology students manufactured a steam cleaning machine

Written by Candes Keating
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Provides coverage for the Engineering and Applied Sciences Faculties; the Bellville and Wellington Campuses, and research and innovation news.

CPUT’s commitment to nurturing post-graduate students and increasing research outputs has been given a boost, thanks to a partnership with the Professional Provident Society (PPS).

The Centre for Emergency Medical Science (EMS) Graduate Studies is now officially up and running. 

Lloyd Christopher, EMS Head of Department says this state-of-the-art resource will create a “think-tank” environment, where graduate students can collaborate, share research and host brainstorming sessions.

“We’re tremendously grateful to PPS for their help in making this centre a reality. It will serve as a dedicated venue to develop our graduates as thought-leaders by facilitating research in the emerging EMS field. The modern, tech-friendly hub will be an incubator for inter-disciplinary collaboration and host focus group discussions, tutorials, internet research and be used by the students for forging bonds and socialising.”

PPS’s Marketing Manager, Blaize Ovies, emphasised that their investment in the centre makes great sense, as PPS’s services are tailored exclusively for graduate professionals. A large part of their financial solutions involves educating graduates to manage finances wisely.

“We’re very proud to be associated with an institution like CPUT and particularly the EMS Department. We’re well-aware that the department is widely-regarded as a leading centre of excellence in South Africa and internationally, as the students are trained in advanced life support, medical as well as rescue skills. This produces multi-skilled graduates of exceptional calibre.  PPS is looking forward to a mutually beneficial and sustainable relationship with the university for years to come.”

Written by Janyce Weintrob
Tel: +27 21 460 3514
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Delegates from a number of national educational institutions that offer rescue training for emergency medical service personnel recently gathered at CPUT for the annual inter institutional rescue week.

This annual meet was started by the Department of Emergency Medical Sciences (EMS) at CPUT in 2012 with the aim of getting other institutions that offer rescue training to engage on standardising and benchmarking rescue as a specialist field within emergency medical care.

The first day of the four-day event consisted of an academic workshop where delegates discussed the future academic landscape of rescue qualification.

Marianne Bester and Frederika de Graaff from CPUT’s Fundani department provided vital information on the academic design of new qualifications and the RPL policy.

The delegates used the remaining days of rescue week to engage in cave, mountain and industrial types of rescue simulated scenarios at variety of locations around Cape Town.

According to EMS lecturers Justice Bosman and Ryan Matthews the event was regarded as a success as the objectives around the current needs and future direction within rescue were met as was the objective to introduce new teaching methodologies, showcase new equipment and techniques from different institutions offering rescue in non- or formal training.

“It also provides other institutions with  access to training sites, scenarios and possible contexts, which may not be always available due to their own geographical constraints, where they may develop or obtain some opportunity to test and practice their skills and systems,” says Bosman.

Matthews said next year’s event would be held at the Durban University of Technology.

Written by Ilse Fredericks
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Three bright students will soon be jetting off to Norway where they will gain valuable skills and experience in their field as part of their work integrated learning experience.

Third year BHSc: Medical Laboratory Sciences students Erin Jacobs, Linah Mjuleni and Renaldo Pool will spend three months in Norway where they will be based in the city of Bergen. Prof Tandi Matsha, head of the Biomedical Sciences Department, says a two year grant was received from the UTFORSK partnership programme and this would enable the three students to travel to Norway for their training.

The three students said their studies had prepared them well for the experience and they were looking forward to the opportunity to develop and hone their practical skills. 
“In terms of theory I think we know what to do but I am expecting to learn a lot in Norway and to see how the Norwegians work in their labs and how they do things differently,” said Jacobs.
“This is a once in a lifetime opportunity. I have never even been on plane. This is going to be such a good learning curve. It will be good to explore what’s happening elsewhere in the world, for example certain diseases are more endemic in other countries,” says Mjuleni.

Pool said he looked forward to seeing the different techniques used in the laboratories in Norway.
“We could bring some of those techniques back and try to implement it here.”
The UTFORSK Partnership Programme supports project cooperation between higher education institutions in Norway and higher education institutions in Brazil, China, India, Japan, Russia and South Africa.

Written by Ilse Fredericks
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Two staff members from the Emergency Medical Sciences Department were at the coalface of the recent devastating fires in Knysna, assisting with humanitarian aid.

The fires wreaked havoc in the area, leading to the evacuation of thousands of people with several loosing their lives and homes. Ahmed Bham, the national manager of search and rescue for the Gift of the Givers Foundation, contacted the EMS Department and informed them of their intention to provide humanitarian aid to the Knysna fire victims.
“The Department of Emergency Medical Sciences has maintained a good relationship with the Gift of the Givers Foundation since our contribution to their search and rescue mission in the 2015 Nepal earthquake,” says EMS lecturer Mustafa Zalgaonker.

Meyer and another EMS academic staff member, John Meyer, drove to Knysna with a CPUT Emergency response vehicle.
“Upon our arrival, our roles included site inspection, which was followed by aid distribution from the field distribution centre set up by the Gift of the Givers Foundation. In Buffelsbaai we were one of the first responders conducting site inspection and delivering sustenance to the front line fire-fighters bravely fighting the blaze. During our time in Buffelsbaai we also assisted local residents with emergency evacuation,” says Meyer.

They also assisted Knysna satellite hospital to transfer patients requiring further specialised care with the Gift of Givers: Critical Care ambulance from Knysna to George Provincial Hospital. 

Written by Ilse Fredericks
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Experts in the field of radiography recently gathered for a symposium at CPUT where some of the latest technology in the field was discussed.

The theme of the symposium, which was hosted by CPUT’s Department of Medical Imaging and Therapeutic Sciences (MITS) and presented by GE Healthcare, was Imaging for the Future and covered all four disciplines of radiography.

“The symposium allowed delegates, which also included some of our students, to see what the new advances are in technology and in practice, says Aladdin Speelman, Head of the MITS Department.

Among other things, attendees were exposed to the latest technology in breast imaging.

Speelman said one of the many interesting topics discussed on the day was around the use medical marijuana for symptomatic relief in the management of oncology patients.

Another item discussed was whether radiographers were aligned with their patients’ expectations in the new digital era.

“This was an important topic as clients are much more informed than a few years ago thanks to Google and other technology.” says Speelman.

Other topics that were explored on the day included new advances in CT imaging, theranostics in nuclear medicine, an introduction to musculoskeletal ultrasound and ultrasound fusion and volume navigation. 

Written by Ilse Fredericks
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