Womanity - Women in Unity Dr Amaleya Goneos-Malka Producer

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity, for our series on women in the judiciary, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to Judge Katharine Savage of the Western Cape High Court, Judge of the Labour Appeal Court and Acting Deputy Judge President of the Labour Courts and the Labour Appeal Court.



Judge Savage’s family motivated her to pursue a career in law, in part, to be able to change society. For example, she went ton to participate in the negotiations and writing of the final draft of the South African Constitution. Legislation has a powerful impact on driving reform and changing national ecosystems, whether it be social, economic or political constructs. Judge Savage participates in several societies organisations in the legal field, such as the  Southern African Legal Information Institute (SAFLII) 2004 and South African Society for Labour Law. She has also been elected by the United Nations General Assembly to serve as a Judge of the United Nations Appeal Tribunal. Judge Savage shares some of the responsibilities of being a judge, emphasising the importance of being independently minded, being brave in your judgements, standing by your views and at times shifting your perspectives.



One of the secrets to Judge Savage’s ability to manage multiple roles is structuring her life to enable her to participate in different forums. Furthermore, she approaches her work with an efficiency mindset and has learnt not be a perfectionist.



Judge Savage emphasises the importance of human values, knowing who we are as individuals, appreciating people from different backgrounds and encouraging people to get to their best selves. We all have our own journey and challenges, which we should consider as opportunities for growth.



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This week on Womanity-Women in Unity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to Dr Latifa Firfiray, who heads up anaesthesiology clinical services at Tygerberg Hospital and lectures at Stellenbosch University.



Dr Firfiray shares some of her motivations for pursuing her specialisation in anaesthesiology, which requires interacting with a multidisciplinary team. She highlights some of her experiences with sedating patients in theatre and helping manage patients with chronic pain through nerve blocks.



One of Dr Firfiray’s areas of interest is the wellness of doctors, especially anaesthetists, who have been shown to experience a high rate of burnout, particularly in the public sector. It is almost ironic that doctors, whose role is to care about other people, sometimes neglect their own self-care. Some of the factors that contribute to burnout include system and personal stressors. The accumulative effects of these stressors, if they are not managed correctly, result in mental health issues, like depression and anxiety. Women tend to be susceptible because they often juggle multiple roles simultaneously. In the workplace some preventative measures include a leadership that is open to listening to people on the ground and creating a supportive environment where people can thrive and feel valued.



Dr Firfiray encourages us to think in terms of a sisterhood, that we are not alone in our journeys and we should be able to lean on one another for support and lift each up for the betterment of all our lives. She reminds us that women can have it all, but we don’t necessarily have to do it all ourselves, some things can be outsourced to others.



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This week on Womanity-Women in Unity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to KwaZulu Natal’s first female Maxillofacial and Oral Surgeon, Dr. Pranusha Ramlakhan, who works in the public sector at the King Edward VIII Hospital/Victoria Mxenge Hospital, in Durban, South Africa.



Women are underrepresented in the Maxillofacial and Oral Surgery specialisation. Dr. Ramlakhan shares her journey and emphasises that gender should not be a barrier to anyone’s dreams. Through hard work, faith, belief in her dreams and family support she achieved her goals. One of the rewarding aspects of her work is having an impact on people’s lives. She recounts a memorable case of removing a tumour from a young girl’s jaw, which had disfigured her appearance and caused her to be socially introverted. After the procedure, when the girl looked in a mirror and saw normal features on her face, she was overcome with emotion, and her sense of self-confidence was restored.



In terms of her profession, Dr. Ramlakhan notes the value of mentorship and how this asset was lacking at the beginning of her career. She is actively mentoring upcoming maxillofacial surgeons, providing them with the right guidance and sharing her experiences for them to make informed choices.



In closing, Dr. Ramlakhan encourages us to follow in Theodore Roosevelt’s words: “Believe you can, and you’re halfway there”. The journey to success is not always a straight path, but through self-belief, support from loved ones, and drawing on your faith, most challenges can be overcome and make you stronger.



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This week on Womanity-Women in Unity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to Prof. Karin Baatjes, who is the Vice Dean of Learning and Teaching in the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at Stellenbosch University.



Prof. Baatjes discusses the wide variety of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes within the faculty and how her sector aims to keep on trend with new pedagogical developments across disciplines as well as being on track with advancements in medicine and health sciences to ensure students are exposed to the latest developments.  One of the innovations Prof. Baatjes has experimented with is the use of Go-Pro cameras for point of view surgery, the camera allows the surgeon to record their actions, such as the angle that they hold instruments, and this gives more of a first-person view for trainee surgeons. Quality education comes at a cost, that some people simply cannot afford. The Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences established the iThemba Bursary Fund to provide financial support for students, and Prof. Baatjes is an active fundraiser. One of the rewarding aspects of this portfolio is the ability to influence and have a scalable impact on a large number of people across different aspects and disciplines.



Medicine is a demanding field and choosing a specialisation is an important decision. Prof. Baatjes recommends that before people make their final choice they should expose themselves to different disciplines, seek out role models or mentors, and ensure that their personal characteristics align with the appeal and logistics of their potential career. Every job has good and less enjoyable aspects, but make sure the positives outweigh the negatives. Additionally, be driven by your own goals (not someone else’s) and judge yourself by your own metrics of success.



Reflecting on her leadership style Prof. Baatjes applies different strategies according to the situation. She encourages people to speak up on issues even if their opinions contradict the status quo. She also looks for potential in people and helps them grow.



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This week on Womanity-Women in Unity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to Dr. Nika Vafaei, who is a Maxillofacial and Oral Surgeon in private practice and previously served in the public sector. Dr Vafaei shares the differences between the types of conditions she treats in the private sector compared to her experience in the public sector, noting that cases in the public sector tended to be dominated by pathology (i.e tumours) and trauma as a result of assaults (such as broken jaws and broken noses), whereas wisdom tooth extraction and placing implants were more common in private practice.



We discuss the low ratio of maxillofacial surgeons to the general population and the uneven distribution of these specialists, particularly in rural communities. Lack of access to specialists has significant implications on individuals’ wellbeing, often conditions become complicate to treat because patients have delayed seeking help.  Dr Vafaei describes a memorable case where she was able to restore mobility to a young girl’s jaws after 13 years of not being able to open her mouth properly.



According to the American College of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons only 8% of oral and maxillofacial surgeons are female; unfortunately this is a global trend. Dr Vafaei highlights some of the challenges of pursuing a specialisation, such as the intensity of working, studying and conducting research simultaneously. The demands during this phase can be difficult for women who have or plan to have children if they don’t have adequate support structures to help them. Dr Vafaei emphasises the benefits of having role models and mentors to provide a lived experience that shows how they attain professional goals and positive behaviours to emulate.



In closing, Dr Vafaei encourages us to understand our purpose and what motivates us to do the things we want them to; and to combine these drivers into our vocations to lead fulfilling lives.



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This week on Womanity-Women in Unity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to Dr. Bethany Foster, who is a Professor of Paediatrics, Chair of the Department of Paediatrics at McGill University and Paediatrician-in-Chief at the McGill University Health Centre. She also serves as acting Division Director of Paediatric Nephrology. Additionally, she is Chair of The Transplantation Society’s Women in Transplantation Initiative.



She shares some of the factors that contributed to choosing paediatrics and nephrology, such as how kidney disease affects the person as a whole. Her research interests extend to studying immunosuppressive medication adherence, graft outcomes in adolescent and young adult kidney transplant recipients, who tend to be at particularly high risk of graft loss. Additionally, her research addresses recipient and donor sex difference in graft outcomes. She shares that male tissues have a specific protein that is not present on female tissues, which may trigger an immune response against the graft.



Prof. Foster is chair of The Transplantation Society’s Women in Transplantation Initiative (WIT), which aims “to advance and inspire women transplant professionals and champion issues of sex and gender in transplantation”. She notes that men still outcome women in transplant medicine and views WIT as an initiative to encourage more women to pursue the field. We discuss the value of mentorship and sponsorship to support women, and emphasis that women need to step up and put themselves forward for leadership roles, thus becoming role models for the women coming up behind them.



In closing Prof. Foster encourages women to believe themselves, be open to constructive feedback, and continue to improve.  In your career, as you develop into a self-assured individual, people should accept you as you are, and if you demand it and give them no choice they might just follow your lead.



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