The Radiography Department at Tygerberg Hospital is breaking new grounds in the field of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI).
The department is the first in South Africa to offer a structured one-year post-graduate course in MRI. The Health Professions council of South Africa (HPCSA) has approved the course as an additional qualification. Six radiographers successfully completed the course last year.

MRI has become the imaging modality of choice in the management of patients who present with various medical histories. This is because MRI can image virtually every part of the body.

Ms Valdiela Daries, a lecturer in the department and the MRI course co-ordinator, said traditionally radiographers have received “on-the-job” training to operate the very expensive, sophisticated imaging equipment with no significant background of MRI physics, principles and techniques.

“The MRI course was developed, not only for the need for radiographers to develop professionally, but new technological advances in MRI are introduced regularly. It has become essential for radiographers to be informed of the latest international developments,” said Ms Daries.

The radiographers attend block periods for lectures. Various radiologists, engineers, technicians, application specialists and radiographers lecture during the course. Experts in the field act as examiners, moderators, presenters and demonstrators. The students are required to do 700 hours of practical training in their workplace.

“As the Council on Higher Education (CHE) requires proof of acceptance from the radiography professional body before they consider our application, we will shortly forward our application to the CHE for institutional accreditation,” said Ms Daries.

CAPTION:

First graduates of the Postgraduate certificate in Magnetic Resonance Imaging. At the back: Mr Carlo Wagner (Symington & Partners: N1 City), Ms Monique van Niekerk (Schnetler & Partners: Panorama), Ms Patricia Heidmann (Morton & Partners: Claremont), Ms Bronwen Mackrill (Morton & Partners: Claremont), Ms Natalie Bennie (Tuft & Partners, Constantiaberg). In front: Ms Estelle Arendse (Tygerberg Academic Hospital), Ms Valdiela Daries (CPUT lecturer and course co-ordinator), Ms Naomi Fenton (HOD: Symington & Partners and course co-ordinator).

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To address the critical shortage of qualified medical laboratory scientists in South Africa, CPUT's Biomedical Sciences Department has become the first in the country to offer a professional degree in Medical Laboratory Science.

The degree was approved by the Department of Higher Education and Training (DoHET), the Higher Education Quality Committee (HEQC), the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) and the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) to be offered as from January 2011.

CPUT will replace its three-year National Diploma: Biomedical Technology with the professional degree. According to Prof Johan Esterhuyse, Head of Department Biomedical Sciences, the degree has been structured so that it contains elements of both the National Diploma as well as BTech: Biomedical Technology.   Esterhuyse, who is also the national coordinator of the re-curriculation process says, "Offering such a degree will create better recognition of the qualification and also give us an opportunity to train highly qualified scientists. This degree will also open doors for our students and create more job opportunities as the qualification will give them better access to a greater job market globally." The professional degree will lead to further advanced levels of study towards Master's and Doctoral degrees.The department has also completed a new curriculum which has been approved nationally.  According to Esterhuyse, the new curriculum includes more integrated Pathophysiology and Molecular Biology, which is currently the new way of thinking in Biomedical Science.To keep everyone in the loop, the department has organised workshops to ensure that staff members know what is expected of them. "We would not have done this without the support we got from management and many other role players", added Esterhuyse.By:  Andiswa Dantile

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CPUT provides its students with a wealth of knowledge and real-world practice that will see them well-prepared for the world of work.

At the Optical Dispensing Department students can be assured that they will hit the ground running once they graduate.

The department, which is based at the Cape Town Campus, offers students an internationally recognised course, which is accredited by the Health Professions Council of South Africa.

Students have access to cutting-edge technology and to a current curriculum, which prepares them for the demands of industry.

Currently, CPUT is the only higher education institution offering training in this area in the Western Cape and each year graduates are snatched up by the industry, both locally and internationally.

Graduates have an array of exciting career options to choose from. This includes working in an optometrist or eye care specialist store. Many CPUT graduates also go on to work abroad or open their own practices.

Further options include working in a laboratory or as dispensing optician, who conducts visual examinations as well as adjustments, maintenance and repairs to spectacles. 

A career in optical dispensing also offers a great balance between working with people and with cutting-edge technology.

By Nurahn Ryklief

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The Department of Biomedical Sciences is pulling out all the stops to ensure that its students and those at other institutions continue receiving excellent training amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dr Glenda Davison, Associate Professor and Head of the Department, said one of the main challenges was how to continue teaching in an abnormal situation while ensuring that students complete the year while maintaining physical distancing and safety.

“This was particularly important for the final fourth-years who are required to complete clinical practice in an accredited laboratory before being able to register with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA). The laboratories in the Western Cape are under severe pressure and so students were not allowed to continue their training and have been at home throughout the lockdown.”

Davison said the solution was to work together with all other universities of technology offering this programme and the National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS).

“Because our qualifications are dependent on HPCSA accreditation and approval, the various universities decided to put together a proposal for the HPCSA on how we could, as a united group, continue with both third- and fourth-year clinical practice,” she said.

“After an online meeting, we drafted a document which proposed that the requirements to register be supplemented with offsite training. This could include training in a simulated clinical practice laboratory, online videos which would demonstrate relevant laboratory procedures, online tutorials and learning material.”

Davison said the NHLS had partnered with the university and had already set up online sessions using Zoom.

“The proposal suggests that with the supplementation of training with these alternative methods, students will be able to achieve the competency needed to register. The joint proposal is to serve at the next professional board meeting.”

She added that CPUT was fortunate to have a simulated clinical practice laboratory situated at the NHLS in Green Point. This laboratory is able to provide training to students in an environment which is similar to the workplace but in small groups and in a focussed way.

“The laboratory is run by Ms Theresa Van Jaarsveldt (clinical practice co-ordinator)  and a team of clinical practice instructors who are in the process of preparing the laboratory to ensure that students are able to obtain the practical training, yet maintain all the physical distancing required to ensure safety.”

One of the alternate methods of teaching is making videos of laboratory procedures taking place in a real diagnostic laboratory.

“These would also include videos for the third-years in which students can get an idea of how a busy medical laboratory operates. The making of the videos will be driven by our clinical practice instructors in partnership with the NHLS who have agreed to facilitate these in their laboratories.” 

Davison stated that once the videos have been completed it will be shared with other universities in order for them to supplement their Clinical Practice training.

“It is really heartening to experience how everyone, both in the higher education institutions and the employer sector, has pulled together in such a positive way. Everyone has been willing to assist and make sure that our final years complete the year. I am really positive that we will complete the academic year,” she stated. 

Written by Ilse Fredericks
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CPUT Environmental Health (EH) students have been the first to heed the call from the International Federation of Environmental Health to produce video clips about EH.

Made in conjunction with the Film and Video Department the EH students produced a five-minute insert demystifying the profession and explaining its importance.

The first screening of the clip was done to a high profile audience including representatives from the National Department of Health, Health Professions Council of South Africa, South African Institute of Environmental Health as well as the City of Cape Town and all the District Municipalities in the Western Cape Province.

Vice-Chancellor Dr Prins Nevhutalu reminded the audience of his mission at CPUT which is to produce socially responsible students who care about people and the planet before profit.

“Environmental Health is very important and I am very glad the university offers it because it is an issue of human rights,” he says.

Each year World Environmental Health Day adopts a theme with this years’ being “Addressing Environmental Health Inequalities” and a world-wide call for EH students to produce video clips was issued in an attempt to raise awareness of this critical issue.

Chairperson of the Professional Board for Environmental Health Jerry Chaka commended the students for being the first in South Africa to do so.

“Study further and make us proud. Contribute to the EH body of knowledge.”

Written by Lauren Kansley
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Liaises with the media and writes press releases about interesting developments at CPUT.

CPUT made history today when it awarded its first honorary doctorate in the field of Environmental Health.

This honour was bestowed on Dr Selvanathan Mudaly, a trailblazer in the field of Environmental Health in South Africa.

Mudaly is the third recipient of an honorary doctorate from CPUT. Earlier this year, the university awarded honorary doctorates to Dr Brigalia Bam and Dr Christo Wiese, for their contributions to education and business respectively.

On acceptance of his honorary doctorate at the university’s Spring Graduation, Mudaly encouraged the graduating class to serve South Africa and to each play a role in developing the country.

He also urged the audience not to forget the communities they came from and to plough back.

“It is left to us to make a difference in South Africa,” he says.

An expert in Environmental Health, Mudaly made history in 1972 when he became the first black individual in South Africa to obtain the National Higher Diploma in Public Health from the then Natal Technikon.

Mudaly also carried out the first Municipal Health Services survey in South Africa and drafted a set of MHS by-laws.  However, Mudaly’s greatest contribution to the field of environmental health is his development of the ‘Scope of Practice’ for the profession of environmental health, which was approved by the Health Professions Council of South Africa and gazetted by the National Minister of Health in June 2009.

He was also recently elected as the President of the International Federation for Environmental Health.

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

The Department of Medical Imaging and Therapeutic Sciences (MITS) recently hosted two students, Julie van Herck and Sien Paelinckx from Odisee University in Brussels, Belgium on a four-month clinical internship.

The MITS Department and Odisee University have an eight-year international exchange collaboration.

Guiding the students’ clinical training journey from January to April 2024, was Dr Aladdin Speelman, the international exchange programme coordinator in the MITS Department. Prior to commencement of the exchange programme, Speelman played an integral role in ensuring the registration of students with the Health Professions Council of South Africa and orientation within the Groote Schuur Hospital, amongst others. During the 2024 exchange programme, Speelman was supported by three academics within MITS department – Valdiela Daries, Yanda Peters and Heidi Thomas.

During their time in Cape Town, Julie and Sien completed clinical training in the Radiography department at Groote Schuur Hospital. They gained experience in a wide range of procedures including imaging of trauma patients and those with uncommon and rare diseases, often not seen in developed countries such as Belgium.

The two students’ experiences extended beyond the hospital environment. They had the opportunity to interact professionally and socially with CPUT students and academics, they travelled the Garden Route and explored the picturesque Cape Winelands while enriching their understanding of diverse South African cultures.

In March this year, the exchange programme saw Peter on a staff exchange to Odisee university. Peter spent a week at Odisee University and participated in teaching Odisee students during clinical tutorials on Angiography and Interventional Procedures. “I was thrilled to discover that our programme matched the standards of Belgium, a first-world country, especially in terms of the content covered in the afore-mentioned topics. This enabled me to actively engage and contribute meaningfully during tutorials, despite encountering some language challenges”.

Looking into the future, the four-month exchange period marks the continuation of a promising collaboration between CPUT and Odisee University. Through continued partnership, the MITS Department aims to create opportunities for Radiography students to visit Belgium in the near future.

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