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28 August 2023 | Story Andre Damons | Photo Andre Damons
Dr Kgomotso Moroka
Dr Kgomotso Moroka, Acting HOD: Cardiology in the UFS Faculty of Health Sciences, recently graduated from Maastricht University with a Diploma of Advanced Studies in Cardiac Arrhythmia Management (DAS-CAM).

A staff member from the University of the Free State (UFS) is hopeful her newly acquired skills and knowledge, following her graduation with a Diploma of Advanced Studies in Cardiac Arrhythmia Management (DAS-CAM) and completion of a electrophysiology fellowship, will contribute to the improvement of cardiovascular services in the Free State and Sub-Saharan Africa.

Dr Kgomotso Moroka, the Acting Head of Department (HOD) for Cardiology in the UFS Faculty of Health Sciences, recently graduated with a DAS-CAM in June 2023. This distinctive postgraduate programme is offered by Maastricht University in collaboration with the European Heart Rhythm Association and the European Society of Cardiology. This is a two-year programme and Dr Moroka was part of the third cohort which comprised 32 electrophysiologists selected from over 20 countries worldwide.

Her achievement places her as the sole   DAS-CAM graduate in Sub-Saharan Africa and the Free State region. 
Electrophysiology, which studies the electrical influences and patterns of the heart is vital for treating patients with abnormal heartbeats caused by irregularities in the heart’s electrical pathway, resulting in either unusually slow or fast heartbeats.

Seizing a valuable opportunity

Dr Moroka emphasises that currently, there is a lack of electrophysiology services provided in both the public and private sectors within the Free State. She therefore anticipates that her newly acquired skills and knowledge will play a pivotal role in enhancing and improving the cardiovascular services offered in the province. She is also optimistic about contributing to the establishment of a department dedicated to Electrophysiology Training. 

“I could not pass up the opportunity to engage with, learn and gain insights from seasoned world-class great minds of electrophysiology, who write the books we read and the very guidelines that we utilize in our daily practices. There was also an opportunity to be guided in research and the state-of-the-art cardiac clinical electrophysiology while also obtaining insights into how to develop a cardiac arrhythmia centre, biostatics, health economics, leadership skills and health technology assessment,” Dr Moroka explains regarding her motivation to enrol in the program. 

“It was a challenging and exciting program that allowed participants to engage with the world-renowned experts in electrophysiology not only on a professional but also personal level. This program served not only to educate participants on clinical cardiac electrophysiology but served to empower us to fulfil roles as future leaders in electrophysiology and in our day-to-day roles,” she continued.

Addressing the diverse burden of cardiac diseases

Dr Moroka believes that this qualification will significantly contribute to local efforts to establish and develop a much-needed unique service, thereby advancing her career development locally and on the international platform. This qualification enables her to expand her clinical research pursuits on multiple fronts.

Dr Moroka underscores the substantial burden of ischemic heart disease with the associated risk factors such as uncontrolled high blood pressure, diabetes, elevated cholesterol levels and smoking. “There is a measurable burden of heart failure and valvular heart disease. In addition, from the research that we hope to embark upon, we hope to clearly define the burden of rhythm problems such as atrial fibrillation and other arrhythmias which are serious conditions. With the available skills and knowledge, we can begin to offer alternative adjunctive treatment that would have a significant positive effect on the morbidity and/or mortality of our patients.”

Dr Moroka points out that with the advent and advances in machine learning and digital health technology, we are in an exciting era of possibilities of obtaining valuable biological data and biometric parameters that would assist in the reduction of risk and prevention of a diversity of cardiovascular diseases and to guide clinical practice guidelines. 

“The current focus is risk reduction, prevention of cardiovascular diseases and the establishment and development of personalized health care, with a growing interest in cardiovascular genetics and gene therapy.  Who knows what the future will bring, but for now the focus is to work towards good health and disease alleviation,” she says. 

News Archive

Moshoeshoe Memorial Lecture to focus on Leadership challenges
2006-03-27

 Lecture to focus on Leadership challenges

 n Thursday 25 May 2006 – Africa Day – the University of the Free State (UFS) will host the inaugural King Moshoeshoe Memorial Lecture in honour of this great African leader and nation-builder.

 Prof Njabulo Ndebele, internationally renowned writer and academic, and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cape Town (UCT), will deliver the inaugural lecture at the Main Campus in Bloemfontein on the topic: Reflections on the Leadership Challenges in South Africa.

 “I see the lecture as part of a larger debate on leadership models, particularly the concept of African leadership, as well as the ongoing discourse about nation-building and reconciliation,” says Prof Frederick Fourie, Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the UFS.

 According to Prof Fourie, the Moshoeshoe project was launched at the UFS in 2004 to coincide with South Africa’s first decade of democracy and was part of the University’s centenary celebrations, having been founded in 1904.

 “Through this project the UFS seeks to honour a great African leader and demonstrate our commitment to transformation so as to create a truly inclusive and non-racial university,” said Prof Fourie.

 “As the founder of the Basotho nation, King Moshoeshoe is widely credited for his exceptional style of leadership, displaying the characteristics of diplomacy, reconciliation and peaceful co-existence in his efforts to unite diverse groups into one nation,” said Prof Fourie.

 As part of its ongoing Moshoeshoe project, the UFS commissioned a television documentary programme on the life and legacy of King Moshoeshoe. This was completed in 2004 and broadcast on SABC 2 later that year.


Abridged curriculum vitae of Njabulo S Ndebele

Professor Njabulo S Ndebele is currently Vice-Chancellor and Principal of UCT.

 Njabulo Ndebele began his term of office at UCT in July 2000, following tenure as a scholar in residence at the Ford Foundation’s headquarters in New York.  He joined the Foundation in September 1998, immediately after a five-year term of office as Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of the North in Sovenga, at the then Northern Province.  Previously he served as Vice-Rector of the University of the Western Cape.  Earlier positions include Chair of the Department of African Literature at the University of the Witwatersrand; and Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Dean, and Head of the English Department at the National University of Lesotho.

 An established author, Njabulo Ndebele recently published a novel The Cry of Winnie Mandela to critical acclaim.  An earlier publication Fools and Other Stories won the Noma Award, Africa’s highest literary award for the best book published in Africa in 1984.  His highly influential essays on South African literature and culture were published in a collection Rediscovery of the Ordinary.

 Njabulo Ndebele served as President of the Congress of South African Writers for many years.  As a public figure he is known for his incisive insights in commentaries on a range of public issues in South Africa.  He holds honorary doctorates from Universities in the Netherlands, Japan, South Africa and the United States of America.  He is also a Fellow of UCT.

Njabulo Ndebele is also a key figure in South African higher education.  He has served as Chair of the South African Universities Vice-Chancellor’s Association from 2002-2005, and served on the Executive Board of the Association of African Universities since 2001.  He has done public service in South Africa in the areas of broadcasting policy, school curriculum in history, and more recently as chair of a government commission on the development and use of African languages as media of instruction in South African higher education.  He recently became President of the Association of the AAU and Chair of the Southern African Regional Universities Association (SARUA).

Media release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Media Representative
Tel:   (051) 401-2584
Cell:  083 645 2454
E-mail:  loaderl.stg@mail.uovs.ac.za 
26 March 2006

 

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