If you’re a medical student, a young doctor, or even a seasoned doctor faced with a question or a new step in your career, then there’s one thing you can bargain on: you are not alone. There are a number of things common to all doctors when it comes to navigating the different stages of your career, both clinical and non-clinical. Whether you are trying to decide where to apply for internship/community service, trying to find work post-community service, transitioning to private practice, or perhaps just studying for an exam or trying to get into a registrar-programme, you all have to navigate some big decisions that can have major implications on your careers and your patients. So, if you had to boil it down to one main thing that you all have in common, it’s this: a need for mentorship and guidance.
SAdocs, founded by a fellow doctor Chloe Redelinghuys, was birthed from seeing this need amongst doctors. Their motto was, and still is, “If I have to figure it out anyway, why not pay what I’ve learned forward to help my fellow colleagues?”
SAdocs believes in the power of community – doctors need each other. If one person’s ceiling can become another person’s springboard, then we actually stand a chance to build a better healthcare system in South Africa. Being isolated, on the other hand, often leaves doctors having to reinvent the wheel in terms of figuring things out. It can also leave you vulnerable to some of the career and financial pitfalls common to many doctors.
This need for community and mentorship is why the SAdocs website was created about 2 years ago. It initially served as a database of knowledge meant to empower younger doctors to navigate their careers better. This included content on things like internship and community service reviews, a comprehensive guide on how to start a private practice, some tips on how to further your studies, lists of the public sector vacancies for doctors, and much more.
However, one major thing was lacking: a two-way conversation.
While SAdocs could provide some helpful static content, there were more and more requests for a platform where doctors would be able to ask and get answers to more specific questions. Doctors also wanted to be part of more real-time discussions on topics like studying for diplomas or primaries, sharing useful resources, asking clinical questions, etc.
It’s for this reason that SAdocs Hub was developed.
SAdocs Hub is a forum and chat-based web app where doctors can now go to ask their specific questions, answer and comment on each other’s posts, share resources, participate in real-time discussions, and gain access to an ever-increasing database of knowledge shared by doctors across South Africa.
Finally, medical students and doctors of all career stages can participate in the greater community to receive better guidance and mentorship. This is an exciting leap towards building a stronger healthcare force in South Africa.
To find out more about who SAdocs is and their new Hub, visit their website www.sadocs.co.za/sadocs-hub/
