Rural Allowance: Yes
Doctors Quarters:
- I didn’t stay here, so can’t say much.
- Small room, bachelor set up with little space to cook. Advantage is that it’s on-site, can rest in your room when on call and you don’t have to share.
- Very,very small one room. Limited rooms so some stay at nurses home, which is also one room. Advantage is being onsite and no sharing but disadvantages are that if placed in nurses hone, you’ll share a bathroom. In DQ you have your own bathroom but poorly maintained from previous years. Its no 5star, let alone 3 star, maybe a 2 star. Dq, no kitchen. I buy my drinking water. There’s a small passage used as a “kitchen” or let me say cooking area cause that’s no kitchen. It will demotivate you from cooking, but we’re not the same.
Academics:
- This is very department specific. Anesthetics has formal teaching, tutorials, theory and block exit practical examinations. You will feel like a student again, but you will learn a lot. You will have intern presentations for almost all rotations. There is always opportunity for academics during ward rounds, grand rounds, mortality and morbidity meetings etc.
- High patient influx so you get to do a lot in terms of procedures but little teaching.
- Depends on the department. Ranges from fam med where its not academic at all, just an intern doing all the admin and procedures, to paeds where they have tutorials and some assessments. Anaesthesia, you’ll learn alot. They hands on teaching and tutorials given, they have mid and end-block assessments.
- The required academic involvement and presentations in line with HPCSA are followed and are generally good. Anaesthetics department stands out with their dedication to teach and assess interns (more than prepares one to start studying or think about DA in comserv).
Supervision:
- Also very department specific. Surgical disciplines tend to provide more supervision.
- There is usually always a senior MO/Reg/Consultant to ask for advice.
- There’s adequate supervision throughout.
- Good. Seniors (mo,regs) and consultants readily available during day and calls.
Clinical Exposure:
- You will see every single pathology under the sun.
- High patient influx, lots to see and do!
- There’s a looooot of patients and all with various presentations, if you don’t see it today and you heard about it, you’ll see it tomorrow.
- Good spectrum of pathology observed.
Social Scene:
- Wasn’t much of a Socialite, but the hospital is located in an area that is not far away from Durban cbd.
Plenty to do. - Durban is beautiful lots of places to explore!
- Umlazi is not far from Durban (etown as it’s referred as) and Umhlanga where the social scene is buzzing. Also at Umlazi there’s max’s lifestyle which is nice if you’re into that type of vibe.
- Not much to do in the immediate area surrounding hospital.
Additional Comments:
- This was my first choice, and I have no regrets. I’d do it again. It’s a busy hospital, but you can really get the most out of it. If you want to end up leaving internship as a competent clinician, being comfortable to handle anything in com serve, Prince Mshiyeni is the place to be at.
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