Why Did I Become A Doctor South Africa

Dr Yash Naidoo
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Why Did I Become A Doctor - Real Stories from Professionals Who Chose Their Path Honest conversations about career, calling, and life choices. Unfiltered journeys of doctors, dentists, nurses, engineers, accountants, and professionals across South Africa and beyond. In-depth interviews exploring professional pressures, burnout, career pivots, mental health, and the moments that made people question their calling. What You'll Find:  ✨ Raw conversations with diverse professionals  🎯 Resilience, burnout & career change stories  💡 Medicine, dentistry, nursing, engineering, finance & more  🔥 Unexpected journeys (doctors → musicians, engineers → car reviewers!) New episodes every two weeks. Connect with us: 📧 info@whydidibecomeadoctor.com 📱 Instagram: @whydidibecomeadoctorpodcast 📱 TikTok: @why.did.i.become 📱 Twitter: @WhyBecomeaDoc DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed by guests on "Why Did I Become A Doctor" are those of the individual guests and do not necessarily reflect the views of the podcast, its hosts, or producers. Content shared on this podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only and should not be considered medical or professional advice.

  1. 3d ago

    42 Years & Still Fascinated | Dr André Hugo

    This episode is brought to you in partnership with MedicalBrief. Stay informed with trusted reporting, expert insights, and analysis that matters to healthcare professionals. From breaking news to in-depth features, MedicalBrief keeps you up to date with everything happening in healthcare. Subscribe free at https://bit.ly/3Pei7o1. --- Dr André Hugo has been practising as a specialist orthodontist for 42 years. He grew up in Krugersdorp as the son of a dentist — and very nearly became a plastic surgeon, until he watched his uncle operate and fainted. He is also a pilot — he learnt to fly gliders as a dental student at Wits, went on to hold an instrument rating for 25 years, owned several aircraft including a Cessna Centurion, and for years flew his family across borders to Lake Kariba and Bazaruto Island. He is also the man whose practice's transformation from analogue to digital became a teaching case at the UCT Business School. At 74, he is still practising, still fascinated by new technology, and firmly of the view that retirement is a dirty word — though a stent and a brutal course of statins last year have complicated that position somewhat. In this conversation, Yash and Yak speak with someone who has watched orthodontics evolve from hand-bent wires and plaster casts to AI-driven treatment planning and direct resin printing — and who has strong, considered views on all of it. Topics covered: growing up in Krugersdorp as the son of a dentist; a plastic surgeon uncle who inspired him until he fainted; why his father steered him away from prosthodontics; gliding at Magaliesburg, an instrument rating, and international clearances; the stent, the statins, and rethinking invincibility; delegation as the key to scaling a practice; how his nephew Chris Kerr-Peterson dragged him from analogue to digital; a practice transformation that became a UCT Business School teaching case; online booking and the evolution of informed consent; aligners vs braces and the limitations nobody advertises; direct resin printing; AI in orthodontics; why he never considered emigrating; the Kruger elephant problem; and succession planning, retirement, and barefoot walks on the beach. Co-hosted by Dr Yakshen Lindy | Recorded 23 May 2026 This podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only. The views expressed by guests do not necessarily represent those of the podcast or hosts and do not constitute professional advice. Always consult with qualified professionals for medical, financial, or career decisions. 🎙️ Why Did I Become A Doctor shares honest, unscripted conversations with doctors, dentists, healthcare professionals, and other inspiring individuals who are shaping the future of healthcare and beyond. 💬 Enjoyed the episode? Please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify — it really helps us grow and inspire the next generation. 🔗 Connect with us: • YouTube • Instagram • Facebook • Twitter (X) • LinkedIn • WhatsApp Channel 🚀 Want to collaborate, support the show, or find out more? Visit whydidibecomeadoctor.com or email us at info@whydidibecomeadoctor.com.

    42 Years & Still Fascinated | Dr André Hugo

  2. Jul 5

    I Broke My Spine in Matric, Now I'm in Dental School | Luvaan Rooyan

    This episode of Why Did I Become a Doctor South Africa is brought to you in partnership with MedicalBrief — South Africa's leading daily healthcare news service. Stay informed with trusted reporting, expert insights, and analysis that matters to healthcare professionals. Subscribe free at https://bit.ly/3Pei7o1 --- At 19, Luvaan Rooyan is the youngest guest we've ever had on the show, and his road to dental school is unlike any we've heard. A week before his mid-year matric exams, Luvaan was in a serious car accident. He describes breaking his spine, fracturing his dominant hand and suffering a severe concussion, then spending a week in ICU and two months in recovery, unsure at first whether he would walk normally again. He missed those exams entirely, and what followed was a slow, stubborn comeback: relearning how to study with a healing brain, a maths test he says he opened and went completely blank on, and a matric he salvaged one fifteen-minute study window at a time. He'd set his heart on dentistry but didn't get in at first. With an engineering place secured and an apartment already sorted, he was days from starting a different degree when an early-morning email arrived asking if he still wanted a dental seat. He replied within minutes, and by the time he'd stepped out of the shower, the switch was done. In this episode, Luvaan sits down with Dr Yash Naidoo and Dr Yakshen Lindy to talk about growing up in Midrand, why his mother pushed him towards a public boys' school, what it's really like inside a University of Pretoria dental class, and why he wants to specialise in paediatric dentistry, particularly for children with special needs, precisely because so few people do. Along the way: a frank, friendly disagreement about single-sex schooling, a Gen Z take on content and attention, and the Porsche that may or may not be waiting at the end of it all. It's an honest look at how someone this early in the journey thinks about pressure, failure, gratitude and the kind of dentist he hopes to become. Guest: Luvaan Rooyan, second-year dental student, University of Pretoria Hosts: Dr Yash Naidoo and Dr Yakshen Lindy New episodes every second Sunday. This podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only. The views expressed by guests do not necessarily represent those of the podcast or hosts and do not constitute professional advice. Always consult with qualified professionals for medical, financial, or career decisions. 🎙️ Why Did I Become A Doctor shares honest, unscripted conversations with doctors, dentists, healthcare professionals, and other inspiring individuals who are shaping the future of healthcare and beyond. 💬 Enjoyed the episode? Please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify — it really helps us grow and inspire the next generation. 🔗 Connect with us: • YouTube • Instagram • Facebook • Twitter (X) • LinkedIn • WhatsApp Channel 🚀 Want to collaborate, support the show, or find out more? Visit whydidibecomeadoctor.com or email us at info@whydidibecomeadoctor.com.

    I Broke My Spine in Matric, Now I'm in Dental School | Luvaan Rooyan

  3. Jun 21

    The Doctor Who Defends Doctors | Dr Ninakhulu Ntsanwisi

    This episode is brought to you in partnership with MedicalBrief. Stay informed with trusted reporting, expert insights, and analysis that matters to healthcare professionals. From breaking news to in-depth features, MedicalBrief keeps you up to date with everything happening in healthcare. Subscribe free at https://bit.ly/3Pei7o1. --- Dr Ninakhulu Ntsanwisi is a medical doctor and admitted attorney who now runs her own consultancy in the medico-legal space, helping doctors and healthcare facilities identify and mitigate risk before it turns into litigation. Her journey is unlike any we've featured. The daughter of a traditional chief and granddaughter of a former homeland chief minister, she grew up in Limpopo — technically a princess, though you'd never hear it from her — before heading to UCT to study medicine. As a junior doctor in the public sector, she found herself at 2 a.m. forced to choose which of two mothers went to theatre first, performing a Caesarean section she says she wasn't yet qualified to do, because the senior on call refused to come in. Experiences like these, she says, planted the seed: the system itself needed fixing, not just the patient in front of her. So she did something almost no one does — she studied for her LLB at Wits full-time while working weekends, public holidays and school holidays in emergency departments to pay her fees. She went on to practise at Adams & Adams on the plaintiff side, then crossed over to defend doctors at Webber Wentzel, before heading up legal at a medical indemnity brokerage and ultimately starting her own consultancy. Along the way, she unpacks what doctors get wrong about the HPCSA, why she believes most patients sue for answers and accountability rather than money, why specialists get sued more often than GPs, and why, in her view, communication remains the single best protection a clinician has. She also shares her own venture into podcasting with The Legal Clinic, her show educating doctors on the legal side of practice. This podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only. The views expressed by guests do not necessarily represent those of the podcast or hosts and do not constitute professional advice. Always consult with qualified professionals for medical, financial, or career decisions. 🎙️ Why Did I Become A Doctor shares honest, unscripted conversations with doctors, dentists, healthcare professionals, and other inspiring individuals who are shaping the future of healthcare and beyond. 💬 Enjoyed the episode? Please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify — it really helps us grow and inspire the next generation. 🔗 Connect with us: • YouTube • Instagram • Facebook • Twitter (X) • LinkedIn • WhatsApp Channel 🚀 Want to collaborate, support the show, or find out more? Visit whydidibecomeadoctor.com or email us at info@whydidibecomeadoctor.com.

    The Doctor Who Defends Doctors | Dr Ninakhulu Ntsanwisi

  4. Jun 14

    Dentist by Day, Recording Artist by Night | Dr Kiash Arjun

    This episode is brought to you by Bedfordview Dental Care. https://bedfordviewdentalcare.co.za/ --- Dr Kiash Arjun is a 26-year-old dentist working in private practice in Pietermaritzburg — and a recording artist with original songs on radio, an EP, an album, and a history of gigging his way through dental school. He takes us from growing up in Verulam and receiving his first guitar as a seventh birthday gift from his late grandfather, to opening for Jeremy Loops at Park Acoustics, to navigating the jump from community service at KwaDabeka to private practice. Kiash speaks candidly about what dental school at the University of Pretoria actually looks like from the inside, the friendships and the band he built along the way, and why he was terrified of Pietermaritzburg before growing to love it. He talks about his mentor Dr Elvin Naidoo — whose philosophy of treating the whole patient, not just the problem, changed how Kiash thinks about dentistry — and about the postgrad in dental aesthetics he is currently pursuing through the University of the Western Cape. But this conversation keeps returning to music. Kiash explains how he writes songs, why he records voice memos at the gym and in the car, how he got his song to number one on the 5FM pop charts, and why he is still figuring out whether he is a dentist who does music or a musician who does dentistry. He also opens up about imposter syndrome, the doubts that come with being a young dentist, and why having an outlet matters more than people admit. Along the way, he performs several original songs — including "Lady Smith," available now on all streaming platforms — covers a Justin Bieber classic, improvises a wedding song on the spot, and closes the episode with his go-to song, "Stay." This podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only. The views expressed by guests do not necessarily represent those of the podcast or hosts and do not constitute professional advice. Always consult with qualified professionals for medical, financial, or career decisions. 🎙️ Why Did I Become A Doctor shares honest, unscripted conversations with doctors, dentists, healthcare professionals, and other inspiring individuals who are shaping the future of healthcare and beyond. 💬 Enjoyed the episode? Please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify — it really helps us grow and inspire the next generation. 🔗 Connect with us: • YouTube • Instagram • Facebook • Twitter (X) • LinkedIn • WhatsApp Channel 🚀 Want to collaborate, support the show, or find out more? Visit whydidibecomeadoctor.com or email us at info@whydidibecomeadoctor.com.

    Dentist by Day, Recording Artist by Night | Dr Kiash Arjun

  5. Jun 7

    Why Did I Become a Vaccinologist? | Daniel Kapelus

    Daniel Kapelus had never heard the word vaccinology before 2019. By 2020, he was rotating through real COVID-19 clinical trials as a master's student at Wits — thrown into one of the most consequential public health moments in living memory. In this conversation, Daniel breaks down how vaccines actually work, why the COVID vaccines were developed so quickly without cutting corners, what mRNA technology does inside your body, and why you simply cannot copy-paste one country's vaccine schedule onto another. He also reflects on why science communication matters so deeply to him, the gap between evidence and policy, and what he hopes to contribute to public health over his career. A passionate, humble, and genuinely illuminating listen. Topics covered: Growing up in a legal family and choosing science insteadLeaving biomedical engineering and discovering geneticsHow he found his way into vaccinology — and started his master's just as COVID arrivedHow clinical trials work, and how COVID vaccine trials were accelerated without sacrificing rigourmRNA vaccines explained in plain languageVaccine hesitancy, risk perception, and the power of storytelling in scienceThe autism-vaccines claim — what two decades of evidence actually showsThe return on investment of vaccines: 154 million deaths averted over 50 yearsWhy different countries have different vaccine schedulesCareer paths in vaccinology — academia, pharma, NGOs, consultingBrazilian jiu-jitsu, judo, and finding a meditative outlet amid a demanding PhDCo-hosted by Dr Yash Naidoo and Dr Yakshen Lindy | Recorded at Bedfordview Dental Care This podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only. The views expressed by guests do not necessarily represent those of the podcast or hosts and do not constitute professional advice. Always consult with qualified professionals for medical, financial, or career decisions. 🎙️ Why Did I Become A Doctor shares honest, unscripted conversations with doctors, dentists, healthcare professionals, and other inspiring individuals who are shaping the future of healthcare and beyond. 💬 Enjoyed the episode? Please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify — it really helps us grow and inspire the next generation. 🔗 Connect with us: • YouTube • Instagram • Facebook • Twitter (X) • LinkedIn • WhatsApp Channel 🚀 Want to collaborate, support the show, or find out more? Visit whydidibecomeadoctor.com or email us at info@whydidibecomeadoctor.com.

    Why Did I Become a Vaccinologist? | Daniel Kapelus

  6. May 24

    Scalpels & Sculptures — Dr Eric Louw on 36 Years of Small-Town Medicine

    Dr Eric Louw has been a family physician in Standerton, Mpumalanga since 1990. While many of his peers emigrated, he stayed — and built something rare: a full-service GP practice that does obstetrics, surgery, gastroscopies, ultrasounds, and procedures most specialists would hesitate to attempt in a small-town setting. In this conversation, Dr Louw talks about growing up in the gold fields of Virginia in the Free State, his father's unfulfilled dream of studying medicine, the Chamber of Mines bursary that got him to the University of Pretoria, and the years he spent working in the KaNgwane homeland during a politically turbulent era. He reflects honestly on the deterioration of the public healthcare system, the referral bottlenecks that leave patients waiting dangerously long, and the informal public-private partnership his practice has developed to fill the gap. He also talks about what it means to truly belong to a community — to be the doctor who has cared for two generations of the same families, who gets greeted by name at the shop, and who has no intention of retiring anytime soon. And then there is the other Eric Louw: the painter, the wildlife photographer, the self-taught welder who builds metal sculptures in his garage, and the author of The Complexity of Being Human, published by Austin Macauley and available on Amazon and Takealot. This podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only. The views expressed by guests do not necessarily represent those of the podcast or hosts and do not constitute professional advice. Always consult with qualified professionals for medical, financial, or career decisions. 🎙️ Why Did I Become A Doctor shares honest, unscripted conversations with doctors, dentists, healthcare professionals, and other inspiring individuals who are shaping the future of healthcare and beyond. 💬 Enjoyed the episode? Please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify — it really helps us grow and inspire the next generation. 🔗 Connect with us: • YouTube • Instagram • Facebook • Twitter (X) • LinkedIn • WhatsApp Channel 🚀 Want to collaborate, support the show, or find out more? Visit whydidibecomeadoctor.com or email us at info@whydidibecomeadoctor.com.

    Scalpels & Sculptures — Dr Eric Louw on 36 Years of Small-Town Medicine

  7. May 10

    He Crawled Across a Border to Become a Dentist | Dr Reggie Reddy

    This episode is brought to you in partnership with MedicalBrief. Stay informed with trusted reporting, expert insights, and analysis that matters to healthcare professionals. From breaking news to in-depth features, MedicalBrief keeps you up to date with everything happening in healthcare. Subscribe free at https://bit.ly/3Pei7o1. --- Dr Reggie Reddy is a dentist with over 35 years in practice. He holds a post-graduate diploma in periodontology and has worked extensively across community dentistry, oral medicine and orthodontics, with a particular focus on holistic dental medicine. Over three decades in Springs, he built a patient base of 25,000. He has served as national president of the Sathya Sai Organisation of South Africa and remains a passionate mentor to young dental graduates. Reggie grew up on a thousand-acre farm outside Kloof, where his family lived completely off the land. That world ended when the Group Areas Act declared the area a Black township. Given 90 days' notice, his family lost the farm and relocated to Greenwood Park in Durban with nothing. He was six years old. He excelled at Sastri College and set his sights on dentistry from the age of four, inspired by his uncle, Prof Jairam Reddy, the first Black dean of the UWC dental faculty. After being rejected by Wits, he enrolled in a BSc at the University of Durban-Westville. What followed was extraordinary — involvement in the ANC underground, an escape through the Swaziland border crawling through grass in the dark, safe houses in Mozambique, transit camps in Tanzania, and eventually dental school in Lucknow, India. He returned to South Africa, completed his conversion exams, earned a diploma in periodontology at UWC, and did his internship in Soweto — where he worked with Prof Ruben Sher on one of the country's earliest HIV/AIDS studies involving dental patients. His entry into private practice came through stepping in to help a colleague in Durban after a devastating car accident. That path led him to Springs, where he built one of the largest practice bases in the area. A remarkable conversation about resilience, spirituality, mentorship and what it means to stay and serve. Co-hosted with Dr Yakshen Lindy. This podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only. The views expressed by guests do not necessarily represent those of the podcast or hosts and do not constitute professional advice. Always consult with qualified professionals for medical, financial, or career decisions. 🎙️ Why Did I Become A Doctor shares honest, unscripted conversations with doctors, dentists, healthcare professionals, and other inspiring individuals who are shaping the future of healthcare and beyond. 💬 Enjoyed the episode? Please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify — it really helps us grow and inspire the next generation. 🔗 Connect with us: • YouTube • Instagram • Facebook • Twitter (X) • LinkedIn • WhatsApp Channel 🚀 Want to collaborate, support the show, or find out more? Visit whydidibecomeadoctor.com or email us at info@whydidibecomeadoctor.com.

    He Crawled Across a Border to Become a Dentist | Dr Reggie Reddy

  8. Apr 26

    The Dentist Who Walked Away From Six Figures to Build Something New | Dr Farouk Satar

    This episode is brought to you in partnership with MedicalBrief. Stay informed with trusted reporting, expert insights, and analysis that matters to healthcare professionals. From breaking news to in-depth features, MedicalBrief keeps you up to date with everything happening in healthcare. Subscribe free at https://bit.ly/3Pei7o1. --- Dr Farouk Satar is a dentist and practice owner of The Health House in Boksburg, with special interests in implantology, facial aesthetics and conscious sedation. In this conversation, he shares an honest account of how a pivotal conversation with his grandfather at 12 years old shaped his career, the realities of building and rebuilding a dental practice, and why he's now branching out into an entirely new industry. Farouk takes us back to his roots in Tongaat, his years at Orient Islamic School on bursary, his time at UWC dental school, and his early career as Head of Department at a young age — a secure, well-paid role he ultimately walked away from to start private practice in Boksburg. Almost 15 years later, he reflects candidly on what practice ownership has cost him, the team dynamics that brought him to rock bottom, and the difficult decision to rebuild his team from scratch. He also opens up about his new high-protein smoothie business, Protein Pig — why he chose a deliberately disruptive name, the backlash from parts of his community, and what he's learnt about running a venture completely outside healthcare. Co-hosted with Dr Yakshen Lindy. This podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only. The views expressed by guests do not necessarily represent those of the podcast or hosts and do not constitute professional advice. Always consult with qualified professionals for medical, financial, or career decisions. 🎙️ Why Did I Become A Doctor shares honest, unscripted conversations with doctors, dentists, healthcare professionals, and other inspiring individuals who are shaping the future of healthcare and beyond. 💬 Enjoyed the episode? Please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify — it really helps us grow and inspire the next generation. 🔗 Connect with us: • YouTube • Instagram • Facebook • Twitter (X) • LinkedIn • WhatsApp Channel 🚀 Want to collaborate, support the show, or find out more? Visit whydidibecomeadoctor.com or email us at info@whydidibecomeadoctor.com.

    The Dentist Who Walked Away From Six Figures to Build Something New | Dr Farouk Satar
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Why Did I Become A Doctor - Real Stories from Professionals Who Chose Their Path Honest conversations about career, calling, and life choices. Unfiltered journeys of doctors, dentists, nurses, engineers, accountants, and professionals across South Africa and beyond. In-depth interviews exploring professional pressures, burnout, career pivots, mental health, and the moments that made people question their calling. What You'll Find:  ✨ Raw conversations with diverse professionals  🎯 Resilience, burnout & career change stories  💡 Medicine, dentistry, nursing, engineering, finance & more  🔥 Unexpected journeys (doctors → musicians, engineers → car reviewers!) New episodes every two weeks. Connect with us: 📧 info@whydidibecomeadoctor.com 📱 Instagram: @whydidibecomeadoctorpodcast 📱 TikTok: @why.did.i.become 📱 Twitter: @WhyBecomeaDoc DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed by guests on "Why Did I Become A Doctor" are those of the individual guests and do not necessarily reflect the views of the podcast, its hosts, or producers. Content shared on this podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only and should not be considered medical or professional advice.

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