The Dr Coffee Podcast

The Dr Coffee Podcast

By Dr. Simon FraserMedicineHealth & Fitness
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The Dr Coffee Podcast episodes

  • Episode 8: Coffee with Dr Rob Kieser (on forging your own path)
    In this episode, I had the privilege to sit down for a post-call coffee and a chat with Dr Rob Kieser. Dr Rob is perhaps best-known for his antics on social media and his obsession with coffee, his witty take on life, and importantly for this podcast, his outspoken views on the pressure to specialise that many medical students and junior doctors feel. His views have led some to even call him an "anti-specialist". While he's certainly not against specialising, Dr Rob promotes a more balanced view of post-graduate education and training. I hope you enjoy this episode!
    54 min
  • Episode 7: Trauma Surgery - Coffee with Dr Naadiyah Laher
    Dr Naadiyah Laher is a Fellow in trauma surgery, currently working at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital. A self-described "Bara baby", she completed her junior years in & around Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital, before continuing on and completing her five years of registrar time in General Surgery. As mentioned, she is now a consultant surgeon and Fellow in trauma surgery, and nearing the end of her training towards this specialty.
    I sat down with Dr Naadiyah to ask her about her path in medicine, why she chose to specialise in trauma surgery, and how the realities of working in trauma compare to the often glamourised depictions on television and in films.
    With this week marking the occasion of Women’s Day in South Africa, we also diverted down a brief but frank discussion about the experiences of women in medicine. It’s sure to provide much food for thought, and I hope you enjoy listening and learning in this week’s episode.
    Enjoying the podcast? Got something to say? Let us know by emailing [email protected]. You can also follow us on Instagram at @DrCoffeeZA. Be sure to tag us in your story with the hashtag ' #Howzitbrew ' and a picture of you with your coffee cup. 
    Thank you for your support.
    55 min
  • Episode 6: Obstetric Medicine & Infectious Diseases - Coffee with Dr Jarrod Zamparini

    In this week’s “Coffee with Consultants” feature, we hear from doctor Jarrod Zamparini, about his path in medicine and his passion for the lesser known specialty of Obstetric medicine.

    Dr Jarrod Zamparini is a specialist physician at the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital and Wits University in the department of infectious diseases. He is also the founding head of the department of obstetric medicine at Charlotte. We discussed his journey to specialisation, his thoughts on work-culture in medicine, and what it was like managing the very first COVID-19 patients in South Africa.

    It’s an incredible privilege and honour to have Dr Zamparini on the Dr Coffee Podcast. Besides being a great physician, he is also a keen coffee-drinker, a fantastic teacher of students and junior doctors, and a loving husband and father to two small children.

    Twitter accounts mentioned by Dr Zamparini that are suggested resources for Obstetric Medicine:

    @ObstetricMedic

    @StephenLap

    @OBMedicine

    @ObstetricMedSA

    @nelson_piercy

    Dr Jarrod zamparini can be followed at @JZamps

    47 min
  • Episode 5: Nephrology - Coffee with Professor Graham Paget

    In this week’s “Coffee with Consultants” feature, we hear from Professor Graham Paget, about his path in medicine and what it takes to be a specialist physician in nephrology.

    Professor Graham Paget is a consultant Nephrologist at the Donald Gordon Medical Centre and Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital. His daily work is concentrated on the management of patients with end-stage and chronic kidney disease, dialysis, and organ transplants. He is also a member of numerous national oversight committees and councils, as well as a past-president of the South African Nephrology Society.
    It’s an incredible privilege and honour to host Professor Paget on the Dr Coffee Podcast. In person, he is witty and engaging, and a fantastic teacher of junior doctors and medical students in the wards. This interview took place in the department of nephrology at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital.

    For more like this, check out the Dr Coffee Podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts.

    Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/2NsKKXAAPnLfNMRuN8egkT
    Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-dr-coffee-podcast/id1632403080
    Google Podcasts - https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy85NTRjZTY2NC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw
    We're also on Instagram, with the username "DrCoffeeZA".
    https://www.instagram.com/drcoffeeza/

    43 min
  • Episode 4: Gastroenterology/Internal Medicine - Coffee with Professor Adam Mahomed
    In this week’s “Coffee with Consultants” feature, we hear from Professor Adam Mahomed, about his path in medicine and what it takes to specialise in internal medicine and gastroenterology. Professor Adam Mahomed is a Specialist Gastroenterologist involved in the pre and post care of liver transplant patients. He is a past president of South African Gastroenterology Society and the head of the department of Internal Medicine at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital. He generously offered to join us as a guest on the podcast to share his wisdom and experience for the benefit of junior doctors and those preparing to become them. Professor Adam is passionate about shaping the attitudes and worldviews of junior doctors in South Africa: to embrace a professional attitude to adversity, to always give their best for patients, to be diligent in small details that impact outcomes, and be excellent human beings over and above having good clinical skills. Besides sharing his heart-felt and passionate pleas to young doctors to hold themselves to high standards, he also encourages us to share our experiences and seek support for the multiple traumas and moral injuries contributing to burnout and depression our profession. 
    I trust you enjoy the episode and feel inspired, challenged, and motivated by Professor Adam's wisdom and experience. 
    Links to resources mentioned/described in the interview: 
    1) Colleges of Medicine in South Africa: https://www.cmsa.co.za/Default.aspx 
    2) Online courses: https://www.getsmarter.com/products/view-all 
    3) Diploma in Public Health: https://online.up.ac.za/postgraduate-diploma-in-public-health/?utm_source=ADS&utm_medium=CPC&utm_campaign=10284060931&utm_content=582787625890&utm_term=diploma%20in%20public%20health&gclid=Cj0KCQjw8uOWBhDXARIsAOxKJ2HpMEaIQs-N6TUK7g2BGKvyl-xrcBXWuMiJNNaej7FKvRJK2gCa2TEaAsXJEALw_wcB 
    4) Diploma in Internal Medicine: https://www.cmsa.co.za/view_exam.aspx?QualificationID=55 
    Thank you for listening!!
    38 min
  • Episode 3: Starting out in private practice - Coffee with Dr Phetla (Doctorpreneur)
    In this week’s “Coffee with Consultants” feature, we hear from Dr Phetla from Doctorpreneur, about her path in medicine and her consulting services training medical professionals to cultivate an entrepreneurial spirit and successful medical practices. With over 13 years in private practice & a Masters in business administration (MBA), Dr Phetla is invested in consulting with doctors to build & sustain their career and the business of medicine. Doctorpreneur emphasises the importance of having a business mentor and planning a path while still a junior doctor, to begin as you mean to go on; uncover your purpose, passion and values; and determine the right time to take opportunities. We also discussed some of the key elements of "medical-entrepreneurship" and pursuing a sustainable balance between the business- and clinical sides of a fulfilling career in medicine.
    You can reach Dr Phetla via email at [email protected] and their website at www.doctorpreneur.co.za
    You can also find an engaging conversation between Dr Phetla and the Money & Medicine team on Youtube, at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVzWQ6Xs7ng
    43 min
  • Episode 2: Applying for Internship [Version 2.0!]

    Dr Simon Fraser, host of the Dr Coffee Podcast & medical practitioner intern at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital, gives a breakdown of some important points to consider when applying for internship. Topics include: how the application process on ICSP works, personal considerations and social compacts, the process of HPCSA accreditation of both individuals and sites, and why you'll get good opportunities WHEREVER you get posted.

    If you're a current medical student, especially one in final year currently, this episode is for you! How do you decide what hospitals are the best fit for you? What to do if you are married or have children? And what happens if you don't get placed at your first choice?

    24th May 2023 - This is the re-recorded and rebooted version of EPISODE TWO of the Dr Coffee Podcast. I decided to come back and re-do this episode for a number of reasons. First of all, when I recorded the original, I had a fair deal less insight into the Internship experience, as well as the types of options people would consider for internship. Secondly, I’ve since come across additional resources which give you loads of information about the various internship hospitals and make the decision of where to apply a lot easier. Thirdly, I felt that listening back to it, the episode just dragged a little and could do with a bit more punch. So here we are!

    LINK TO QUESTIONNAIRE: https://forms.gle/H2brQ1aVTzguF8Gt5

    NDoH ICSP Applicant Guide - https://cdn.ymaws.com/saslha.site-ym.com/resource/resmgr/documents/icsp_application-for-posts.pdf

    SADOCS internship reviews - https://sadocs.co.za/internship/internship-reviews/

    SADOCS Internship Questionnaire - https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdamn1iFNdSvRSodWAx1sLu1GvCydCeoe4Xb0WUczu0yrtDMA/viewform


    1 hr
  • Episode 1: ENT/Otorhinolaryngology - Coffee with Dr Mark Torres-Holmes

    In this week’s “Coffee with Consultants” feature, we hear from Dr Mark Torres Holmes, about his specialty and his path in medicine.

    Dr Mark Torres-Holmes is an oto-rhino-laryngologist with further training as a head and neck surgeon. He specifically focuses on benign and malignant tumours and conditions of structures within the head and neck, as well as rare paediatric airway and neck lump problems. He graduated from the University of Pretoria Medical School in 2001, and completed his internship training at Tygerberg, before returning to Johannesburg to complete comm serve at Helen Joseph Hospital. Dr Mark currently works as a consultant surgeon with the Morningside Head and Neck Multidisciplinary Team who meet weekly to discuss patient’s head and neck problems. He is also a sessionary consultant at the Steve Biko Academic Hospital in Pretoria. 

    If you know of a consultant or senior registrar in a specialty that YOU would like featured on the Dr Coffee Podcast, please get in touch at the email address [email protected]. We’re also on Instagram, Twitter and Youtube, with the username “@DrCoffeeZA”. If you’ve got anything else on your mind, such as a request for additional topics, further information on how to engage with our guests, feedback on the show, or anything else, please get in touch, we’d love to hear from you.

    *this episode was originally released on the 30th June 2022. It was enhanced using Adobe Podcast AI enhancement on 21 May 2023

    58 min

About The Dr Coffee Podcast

From the publisher's feed

Welcome to the Dr Coffee Podcast: Your weekly blend of motivation, encouragement, education and insight into all things medicine for junior doctors & medical students in South Africa. We feature…