Medical Student Ranked Runner-Up in SAJS Undergraduate Essay Competition

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UKZN fifth-year Medical student, Ms Denata Naidoo, said she felt ‘incredibly blessed and grateful’ for winning the second runner-up prize of R2 000 for her essay: “The Grey Method for Communication across Surgical Generations”, which impressed a panel of five judges attached to the South African Journal of Surgery (SAJS).

A quarterly general surgical journal, SAJS reinstated the Medical Student Essay competition this year. It is open to undergraduate students from any faculty of health sciences in South Africa, and 2024 submissions explored the theme of communication across surgical generations.

‘I am particularly impressed by your achievement as you are a fifth-year undergraduate student yet have written a most erudite and incisive essay on communication across different generations. It was a great pleasure to read,’ said SAJS Editor, Dr Ines Buccimazza.

Also congratulating Naidoo from UKZN’s Surgery discipline was the Head of the Clinical Department for Trauma and Burns at Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital and KwaZulu-Natal Department of Health, Professor Timothy Hardcastle, who expressed that the panel of judges was completely blind to where the submissions were from and who wrote them.

‘When you enter a national competition, you try to limit your expectations because the odds are against you. However, being one of the winners has concretised the notion that I am on the right path to fulfil my purpose in this aspect of my life,’ said Naidoo.

Naidoo’s essay described an approach inspired by Meredith Grey from Grey’s Anatomy (American television series) on her seamless transitioning from interacting with each generation of surgeons to the next. She incorporated the historical evolution of surgery and the methods by which cross-generational communication can be facilitated through the adoption of policies and combating the ageism hierarchy in the surgical workplace.

Writing has been Naidoo’s passion since a young age. ‘I published my first book, 30 Songs Wiser, last year and received positive feedback. I believe that I developed a sense of confidence which propelled me in the direction to enter.’ Her essay is due to be published in the forthcoming issue of the SAJS - Issue 4 Volume 62.

Naidoo said her interest in the human body and watching the movie: Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story - the first neurosurgeon to successfully separate conjoined twins - are what inspired her to study Medicine.

Some of Naidoo’s biggest highlights as a Medical student have been the period where she undertook a Surgery elective and the Surgery block as a whole. ‘I thoroughly enjoyed scrubbing in on exploratory laparotomies, Hartmann procedures, endocrine, burns, and plastic cases. The ability to visualise anatomy in real time and obtain short-term results is an incredible experience. I am truly grateful to the doctors who were welcoming and taught me skills which I would carry with me for life,’ she said.

Naidoo’s future aspirations include graduating, serving her internship in a hospital with a good surgical programme, as well as community service. ‘Thereafter, I aspire to specialise in the field of surgery, possibly general or cardiothoracic surgery.’

Naidoo’s hobbies include road running, reading and good food.

Words: Lunga Memela

Photograph: Supplied