GRAD GALLERY
What is Frontline Refuge and what led you to establish it? Dr Precious Chikura bit.ly/3ecqhY4
Current position: Community Service Medical Officer in obstetrics and gynaecology at Themba Hospital; Founder and Director of Frontline Refuge
Past positions: Medical Intern in Mpumalanga via the Department of Health South Africa
Academic history: 2018 Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBChB) at UCT
It’s been an abnormally stressful time for health professionals who often don’t have the time or the platform to seek mental health services. This was compounded by physical isolation and longer working hours. I’m really invested in the mental well-being of health professionals, because I know that there are a lot of measures that could be put into place systematically to prevent mental illness caused by our jobs. There’s so much space for cost effective innovation. Poor mental health in our career leads to lower quality care for patients, higher rates of absenteeism and substance abuse. Frontline Refuge is an NPO I started in 2020 shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic began. It’s an online platform connecting health professionals to counsellors for free. This was a short term measure to relieve that mental burden, but the support and demands of the service have grown in an overwhelming way as COVID-19 has turned out to be a long-term problem. We aren’t even scratching the surface of the demand, as we are discovering.
What are your day-to-day responsibilities as Medical Officer? I’m currently a community service medical officer in obstetrics and gynaecology and my responsibilities include managing high risk pregnancies, surgical and assisted deliveries, managing the COVID-19 wards, supervising and teaching medical interns. It’s demanding, and you’re constantly learning, but I am enjoying it.
What value do your qualifications add to your work? Medicine is one of those professions that requires a medical degree, no matter which way you cut it. So it has been vital in my foundation as a doctor. Going to UCT was a blessing because you not only learnt what should happen in theory, but because of how functional the Western Cape healthcare system is, you also got to see what’s possible in terms of healthcare delivery in an African setting.
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