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01 June 2021 | Story ANDRÉ DAMONS | Photo ANDRÉ DAMONS
Dr Nicholas Pearce, Head of Surgery at the School of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences UFS – who is also heading the Universitas Academic Hospital COVID-19 Task Team – shows off the crazy socks donated by Cipla and handed over by representatives from the School of Clinical Medicine in the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of the Free State (UFS).

Investec Private Banking supports the #CrazySocks4Docs initiative in the undergraduate medical programme with the theme, ‘Socks to start a conversation’, to encourage breaking down the stigma around mental health among doctors. On Friday 4 June, they provided medical students with a complimentary pair of socks to wear on the day.

Investec will be running a social media campaign until 9 June.  Once the students have received their socks from Investec, they need to post a picture of themselves with their socks on either Instagram or Facebook or both, using the hashtags #2021UFS #Investec# #CrazySocks4Docs #StartTheConversation #YoungProfessionals.
The prizes for the best social media posts are five Takealot vouchers worth R1 000 each. 

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare workers around the world have not only battled this deadly disease, but also their own mental-health issues brought on by their daily experience of this pandemic. 

COVID-19 has placed healthcare workers’ fears, fatigue, burnout, depression, and anxiety even more in the spotlight. Collectively, we have become more aware of how grateful we are to healthcare workers for standing in the front line for us.

It is for this reason that the annual #CrazySocks4Docs initiative is so important – to show support for healthcare workers. Dr Geoffrey Toogood, an Australian cardiologist and advocate for mental health, came up with the idea of the #CrazySocks4Docs Day – an initiative that aims to create awareness for the vulnerability of doctors and other healthcare workers to mental illness and to destigmatise help-seeking behaviour in the medical community.

This year, the #CrazySocks4Docs Day is on 4 June. 

The Ithemba Foundation, which brought this campaign to South Africa, launched a competition on the campuses of all medical schools, with a prize of R1 000 for the student with the most likes for her/his sock selfie.

Raise awareness about the pressure healthcare workers face

Dr Lynette van der Merwe, Undergraduate Medical Programme Director, School of Clinical Medicine at the University of the Free State (UFS), says on the first Friday of June every year, everyone in the healthcare community, as well as the public, are encouraged to wear fun, funky, colourful, or mismatched socks to raise awareness about the pressure healthcare workers face. 

“Medical professionals are just as vulnerable to the same mental-health issues – fear, anger, fatigue, burnout, anxiety, and depression – as anyone else.  The COVID-19 pandemic has spotlighted healthcare workers and the stigma around admitting that ‘I am not OK.’ Just as much as we need healthcare professionals to heal us, we also need to take care of them and support their mental-health needs,” says Dr Van der Merwe. 

According to her, the UFS School of Clinical Medicine has been part of the #CrazySocks4Docs initiative since 2019, and this year will be no different.  

This year

This year, Investec Private Banking will support the #CrazySocks4Docs initiative in the undergraduate medical programme with the theme, ‘Socks to start a conversation’, to encourage breaking down the stigma around mental health among doctors.  They will provide medical students with a complimentary pair of socks to wear on the day.
Investec will be running a social media campaign until 9 June.  Once the students have received their socks from Investec, they need to post a picture of themselves with their socks on either Instagram or Facebook or both, using the hashtags #2021UFS #Investec# #CrazySocks4Docs #StartTheConversation #YoungProfessionals.
The prizes for the best social media posts are five Takealot vouchers worth R1 000 each.

Investec Private Banking has been the bank of choice for SA’s top medical professionals for more than 30 years.
Investec partners with medical interns or medical officers working in community service for the Department of Health, as well as medical specialists or registrars working towards becoming specialists.

Cipla has partnered with the South African Depression and Anxiety Group (SADAG) for the 2021 #CrazySocks4Docs campaign to raise awareness about the fact that our doctors are simply human and are dealing with a lot of ‘stuff’.  By encouraging healthcare professionals and the public to wear their funky socks on Friday 4 June 2021, people will be standing (literally) in solidarity alongside our healthcare workers.  This is essential in a country with a chronic shortage of doctors and specialists and a massive disease burden. 

• The following hashtags can be used on Friday 4 June 2021 along with your sock selfies: #CrazySocks4Docs #CS4D #CreateAwareness #mentalhealth #mentalhealthawareness #Care4OurCarers

Read more about Dr Toogood’s ‘Embracing our vulnerability in medicine’ 

News Archive

Kovsie Open Day a resounding success
2010-05-05

 
 Photo: Gerhard Louw


The Kovsie Open Day 2010 that took place on the Main Campus of the University of the Free State (UFS) in Bloemfontein last week, was attended by more than 6 000 prospective students and their parents. This event was a resounding success. Thus report our prospective students, their parents, campus personnel, as well Prof. Jonathan Jansen, Rector and Vice-Chancellor at the UFS.

Parents and learners from across South Africa were firstly welcomed by Prof. Jansen, the Deans and Moses Masitha, the President of the Student Representative Council (SRC) in the Callie Human Centre. Thereafter they were afforded the opportunity to visit the various exhibitions in the faculties and residences. Parents and learners could also complete application forms for entrance to the UFS in the tent of the Division Corporate Relations on the Red Square. Liesl Cronje from Magaliesburg, who wants to come and study B.Sc.Agric. at Kovsies, was named as the winner of R3 000 by Corporate Relations after her application form had been selected in a lucky draw.

Residences and student organisations also had information points on the grass in front of the Main Building, where more information was given out to prospective students. Armentum, Vishuis and Karee won the first, second and third place respectively with their information points. The ladies’ residences Vergeet-my-nie, Emily Hobhouse and Soetdoring respectively boasted with the best information points.

The first official Kovsie slogan competition was also held and Madelief was appointed as the winner.

This day was held to provide prospective students and their parents with the opportunity to become better acquainted with the distinctive quality that the UFS offers its students. Staff and students also provided learners with the necessary information to enable them to make the right decisions regarding their career and studies next year.
 

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