Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences
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The vision of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences is to be a dynamic, people-centred and inclusive environment, internationally recognised for its excellence in research, education and clinical training in medicine and health sciences, and for the contribution it makes to improving health and health care in South Africa, the African continent and beyond.
This faculty was known as the Faculty of Health Sciences until 30 April 2012.
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Browsing Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences by browse.metadata.type "Chapters in Books"
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- ItemAcademic literacy revisited : a space for emerging postgraduate voices(AFRICAN SUN MeDIA, 2016) Van Schalkwyk, SusanSUMMARY : Few would challenge the notion that postgraduate studies, particularly at doctoral level, should make a contribution to the body of knowledge. Such contribution is typically the product of several years of academic endeavour characterized by a process of ‘being and becoming’ a scholar (Van Schalkwyk 2014). The doctoral journey has, however, been described as one that is fraught with uncertainty and ambiguity, and that is intricate and multi-facetted (Green 2005; Jazvac‐Martek 2009). In addition, Barnett (2009: 431) has suggested that in today’s complex and unpredictable, technology-driven world we require a “wider form of human being” than ever before. It is in this complex space that the postgraduate academic project is situated, requiring the construction of a meaningful, intellectual work such that the graduate is able to take a stand and make her voice heard. Aligned to this thinking is the tacit assumption that engagement in postgraduate studies will facilitate the acquisition of academic literacy and entry into the disciplinary discourse or community of practice within which the academic work has been undertaken. In so doing, the graduate will become recognized as a scholar in the field.
- ItemBeing a postgraduate woman : relationships, responsibilities and resiliency(SUN MeDIA, 2016) Lourens, GuinENGLISH SUMMARY : Female students face particular constraints when pursuing postgraduate degrees. The challenges they may face regarding the timing of their studies in relation to lifeline events such as childbearing years and the constant tension between academic and family responsibilities is a reality across the world. Therefore, women’s education is shaped by personal and structural gendered forces, including family, economic and workplace issues. The culmination of such studies I have found to be a careeraltering experience, which develops personal resiliency, but tests your reserves for relationships and responsibilities. This chapter discusses the educational pathways of postgraduate female students in higher education, possible barriers and sources of support.
- ItemDeveloping higher education curriculum in the health sciences context(AFRICAN SUN MeDIA, 2016) Louw, Alwyn; Archer, ElizeENGLISH SUMMARY : Introduction: How did it happen that Professor Eli Bitzer – the educationist – ended up being involved in health professions education? Was it a matter of a trans-disciplinary approach followed by two faculties, or was it because of specific expertise needed at a specific time of development at one faculty? The answer is most probably – both. In this chapter we will attempt to demonstrate how expertise in one field of science can very successfully be transferred to another field. We will also explore the links between the field of Education where Eli Bitzer comes from, and the field of Health Sciences from which perspective this chapter is written. We do not intend to report on each and every intervention Eli Bitzer had with students, neither do we claim to be the experts in writing about someone as respected as he is. We have only focused on writing about the period between 2006 and 2016, when both of us had the privilege of working closely with him as a colleague. While the main purpose of this chapter is to describe the role Eli Bitzer played in health professions education, the second part of our chapter will pay tribute to him as a teacher, supervisor and colleague. This chapter further highlights his personal characteristics, as perceived by the health sciences community, his involvement in the establishment of an educational centre, his role in the development of a curriculum for the MPhil in Health Sciences and his contribution to postgraduate students as lecturer, mentor and supervisor.
- ItemEvolving doctoral identities : understanding ‘complex investments’(SUN PRESS, 2014) Van Schalkwyk, SusanENGLISH SUMMARY : The metaphor of a journey is often applied to doctoral studies. This journey is characterised by a sense of ‘being and becoming’ that accompanies the emergence of a candidate’s doctoral identity (Green 2005; see also Barnett & Di Napoli 2008). Many students experience this process of identity formation as complex and multifaceted, influenced by individual realities and social contexts (Jazvac-Martek 2009), and fraught with tension and uncertainty (Green 2005). This change in identity is seldom gradual. Often it is marked by moments of dissonance and crisis that lead students to places of change and growth (Di Napoli & Barnett 2008; Jarvis-Selinger, Pratt & Regehr 2012). The doctoral student is expected not only to engage in the process of knowledge acquisition and creation, but to also navigate the developmental journey towards doctorateness (Frick 2011; Trafford & Leshem 2009). Although there is a growing body of research in the field of doctoral education, there remains a need for studies that seek to understand how the identity of the doctoral candidate evolves during the time of study, and why this rite of passage (Andresen 2000) occurs the way it does (Green 2005; Jazvac-Martek 2009). Knowledge about the lived, dayto-day experience of a doctoral candidate is scant. The relationship between student and supervisor is often shrouded in secrecy representing a ‘bounded’ space that is seldom opened up to scrutiny from the outside. Following on Jazvac-Martek (2009), I argue that drawing on constructs such as identity, and the development thereof, offers a useful lens through which the doctoral experience can be explored.
- ItemGraduate attributes for the public good : a case of a research-led university(SUN MeDIA, 2012) Van Schalkwyk, Susan; Herman, Nicoline; Muller, AndreENGLISH SUMMARY : Hall (chapter two) and Walker (chapter six) stress the distinction between higher education as a private asset and as a public good. Previously, Walker (2002:43) argued strongly that universities have a role to play in the promotion of democracy and in inculcating the sort of ‘cultural capital, values and knowledge’ in its graduates that will contribute to a more just and equitable society. This debate is tightly linked to a growing focus on the nature of the attributes students leave university with, including how these attributes will equip graduates for future employment (Barrie, 2007:439). In South Africa the need for graduates who will be able to participate in growing the national economy was emphasised in the National Plan in Higher Education some ten years ago now (DoE, 2001). More recent mandates emanating from the Department of Higher Education and Training – for example the guidelines provided for aligning programmes with the Higher Education Qualifications Framework (HEQF) – have also included issues of citizenship and social justice (Government Gazette no 30353 2007).
- ItemInforming curriculum development in health sciences(AFRICAN SUN MeDIA, 2011) Stefan, CristinaINTRODUCTION: The education of future medical professionals has to ensure that their knowledge and skills are relevant to the health care needs of their future patients, in a context of continuous change of society, science, technology and environment. A rapid tour of the horizon will identify a few examples of evolving health care needs, which should inform the curricula of medical schools. To start with, the disease profile of populations evolves as their income and lifestyle change and their life expectancy increases. Another example would be the latest pandemic of HIV/AIDS, which requires appropriate medical skills and a rethinking of the management of many diseases for those living with the virus. Further, patients’ increasing awareness of their rights has to be paralleled by doctors’ awareness of the complex ethical issues which sometimes arise from the practice of the profession. In addition, the progress of science opens new knowledge domains, such as genomics – the study of the structure and function of genes – which reshape the understanding of disease. The accumulation of data from extensive research in all fields of medicine makes it possible, for the first time in the history of the profession, to practise evidence-based medicine, informed by the systematic analysis of the results of numerous studies on the same disease and thus to move away from treatments based merely on case series or expert opinions. A further example, by no means the last, is the renewed interest in complementary and alternative medicine in the search to expand the therapeutic panoply against disease.
- ItemRace and the politics of knowledge in sports science(AFRICAN SUN MeDIA, 2020) Cleophas, Francois JohannesNo abstract available.
- Item"Race" by any other name would smell(African Sun Media, 2020) Jacobs, CeciliaNo abstract available.
- ItemThe role of genetics in racial categorisation of humans(African Sun Media, 2020) Bardien-Kruger, Soraya; Muller-Nedebock, AmicaOnly very recently in the history of modern humans have we learned how to read the stories hidden in our DNA. The ability to read and interpret DNA has revealed that many things are not as they are perceived to be. For instance, physical features between two people may be strikingly different and therefore be taken to mean that the individuals are fundamentally different, when in fact the DNA of any two humans is almost identical (99.9% the same) on a genetic level. Given the physical differences apparent between populations, much research has gone into studying what makes them different. This type of research, no matter how well intentioned, has led to the pseudoscientific arguments used to justify movements such as the slave trade, the eugenics movement and apartheid in South Africa. Scientists at Stellenbosch University have also played a significant role in highlighting the ‘racial’ differences in the South African population. One such study is the nowretracted Sport Science article.1 In this study, the authors, albeit unwittingly, reinforce racial stereotyping by concluding that so‑called ‘coloured’ women in South Africa have lower cognitive functioning when compared to American age-standardised norms, and that this is due to exposure to a variety of factors with known negative effects on cognitive function. In an attempt to shed some light on the inaccuracies of the assumptions on which this article is based, this chapter will provide some background to racial categorisation from a genetic perspective. It will start with basic concepts in genetics and then expand into some of the more complex concepts and theories supporting the fact that there is no genetic basis for race in humans.
- ItemScience, race and ethics(African Sun Media, 2020) Moodley, KeymanthriThe use of racial and ethnic categories in the conduct of research has resulted in deep divisions in the scientific community in South Africa. Given our history of racial segregation and the subsequent democratic dispensation in a nonracial country, this type of division ought not to occur in the twenty-first century. Good science ought to be based on strong ethical principles. This chapter will explore the delicate relationship between science and ethics. As a point of departure, the historical origin of racial classification will be briefly discussed, as it is integral to understanding the ethics of racialised science.
- ItemThe University curriculum as engaging with external non-academic communities: a grounded theory inquiry approach(AFRICAN SUN MeDIA, 2011) Smith-Tolken, AntoinetteENGLISH SUMMARY : INTRODUCTION: The university curriculum needs to be central to South African higher education debates. Curricular content is expected to be commensurate with the expectations of a wide array of stakeholders of which students, their parents, the government and future employers of students are but a few (Botha 2009). This array of expectations and the consequences for curriculum design, however, make any discussion on the curriculum a complex matter and hence a worthwhile topic to research. Curriculum design is the incubator of the curriculum and has been established as one of the sub-fields of higher education studies (Bitzer & Wilkinson 2009). Community engagement, a further sub-field of higher education, has recently emerged and is closely connected to curriculum design of specifically experiential learning-based curricula. Such curricula which complement vocational training as prescribed by professional boards, thus bringing students in touch with practice, may contribute to students developing a sense of social responsibility towards society as a whole (Smith-Tolken 2010). Experiential learning pedagogies are based on engaging students in experiences that enhance learning. Community work may be one such vehicle that can provide such experiences. When these experiences are structured as part of the curriculum to foster social responsibility and provide exposure to practice in their field of study, such pedagogies add more complexity to curriculum design.