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20 December 2021
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Story Igno van Niekerk
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Photo Igno van Niekerk
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Dr Samantha Potgieter, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Internal Medicine and Dr Nicholas Pearce, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Surgery comment on their team members’ commitment and determination during the pandemic.
On the forefront of the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic, two UFS doctors are leading a team of inspired healthcare workers in a superhuman effort to make a positive difference.
With the pandemic in its second year and the recurring challenges of new waves and strains consistently in the news, one would expect the doctors to be tired. However, quite the opposite is true. Upon entering the office where Dr Samantha Potgieter, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Internal Medicine and Dr Nicholas Pearce, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Surgery are in a meeting with colleagues, the debate is vibrant; an energetic sense of mission.
Miraculously succeeded
My brief is to collect stories and experiences they’ve had over the past 18 months at the Tumelo ward for general and high-care patients, where the team has miraculously succeeded in not running out of oxygen or ventilators, despite handling high volumes of patients from the Free State and Northern Cape. “We saw those pictures of piled-up bodies in Italy. We were committed to avoiding that at all costs. And we did.”
Success stories? First mentioned are their team members’ commitment and determination. The team had to stand in when families could not support dying patients. “They did not die alone. Our team was there.”
“Really sad and frustrating are the deaths that could have been prevented. Unvaccinated patients. They arrive ill, wanting to know if they can get it. Too late...” – Dr Nicholas Pearce
Then came hope
Sad stories? The past year has had its share of sad stories. “Someone comes in during the morning, needs oxygen, in the afternoon they are in ICU, then ventilator – and then they die. We’ve never faced anything like this before.”
Then came hope. Vaccines. Dr Pearce is in charge of the vaccination site at Universitas Hospital. “Really sad and frustrating are the deaths that could have been prevented. Unvaccinated patients. They arrive ill, wanting to know if they can get it. Too late ...” He opens his cell phone – shares the stats. “We can handle 2 000 vaccinations a day. At the moment about 250 comes in.” He shakes his head.
“We can beat this virus, but we need to stand together ...”
UFS provides support network in each faculty
2016-10-28
Photo: iStock
Faculties at the University of the Free State (UFS) have been affected differently by the interruption of teaching time over the past few weeks.
Some faculties, like the Faculty of Law, have completed their curriculum, while other faculties like the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences require more teaching time. The Faculty of Health Sciences, for instance, cannot do teaching through alternative modes of delivery.
According to their needs, each faculty has prepared all the necessary learning material and instructions to support student learning. The standard and quality will be the same as if students have been attending classes. Some faculties require practical laboratory work as part of their curriculum and the necessary arrangements and adjustments have been made per department/faculty.
Constantly check official platforms
In order to assist with successfully completing the 2016 academic year, the UFS has launched the Academic Reboot Pack 2.0. It provides information around the carefully-crafted UFS academic rescue strategy and how to go about completing your work.
It is paramount to constantly check your faculty’s Blackboard organisation, the university’s main page, and your ufs4life emails to stay informed with emerging information regarding the state of the campus.
Faculties communicate work directly
Faculties at the UFS will communicate all outstanding academic work directly to the students registered in the faculty. For this, the university has created a UFS Support Network. Students should not hesitate to email or call if they need support.
Important contacts:
Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences
Faculty Manager: Lizette Pretorius (LPretorius@ufs.ac.za or +27 51 401 2173)
Teaching and Learning Manager: Dr Corlia Janse van Vuuren (JanseVanVuurenEC@ufs.ac.za or +27 51 401 3691)
Faculty of Education
Faculty Manager: Charmell Cardoso (CardosoC@ufs.ac.za or +27 51 401 9264)
Teaching and Learning Manager: Prof Adri Beylefeld (BeylefeldAA@ufs.ac.za or +27 51 401 3125)
Faculty of Law
Faculty Manager: Adri Kotze (Kotzea@ufs.ac.za or +27 51 401 2735)
Teaching and Learning Manager: Dr Manie Moolman (MoolmanHJ@ufs.ac.za or +27 51 401 7084)
Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences
Faculty Manager: Lee-Ann Frazenburg (DamonsLE@ufs.ac.za or +27 51 401 3199)
Teaching and Learning Manager: Elzmarie Oosthuizen (OosthuizenEM@ufs.ac.za or +27 51 401 2934)
Faculty of the Humanities
Faculty Manager: Marica Coetsee (coetseem@ufs.ac.za or +27 51 401 2369)
Teaching and Learning Manager: Jackie Storer (storerja@ufs.ac.za or +27 51 401 9579)
Faculty of Theology
Faculty Manager: Ingrid Mostert (MosterIE@ufs.ac.za or +27 51 401 9079)
Teaching and Learning Manager: Dr Thomas Resane (ResaneKT@ufs.ac.za or +27 51 401 9331)
Get your copy of the Academic Reboot Pack 2.0 on Blackboard under announcements or click here to download it.
The Academic Reboot Pack 1.0 is also available for you.
If students have any question or queries regarding the Academic Reboot Pack, they can send an email to: advising@ufs.ac.za