Welcome to episode 15! In this week’s coffee with consultants, I share the wonderful conversation I had with Professor Shastra Bhoora, a specialist in Obstetrics and Critical Care at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital. I learnt that working in an ICU is not a specialty on its own, but rather requires you to have done some advanced training in specialising in another area in medicine. That is, in order to specialise in critical care in South Africa, you first need to go through one of Anaesthetics, Emergency Medicine, Internal Medicine, Obs and Gynae, or Surgery - and you’ll notice I listed those in alphabetical order so as not to show favouritism to any one in particular! In addition, Prof Bhoora shared some wonderful insights into the delicate balance between following an algorithm developed to enhance patient outcomes, and the need for excellent clinical skill and wisdom to know when a decision algorithm needs to be adjusted or even rejected in some cases. I hope you enjoy this episode and get a lot of wisdom and insight from it.
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