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14 June 2023 | Story Nwabisa Dinga | Photo Supplied
Nwabisa Dinga
Nwabisa Dinga, Senior Assistant Officer at the School of Nursing

The University of the Free State (UFS) is celebrating Youth Month by showcasing the positive influence of the institution on career development. As part of this initiative, we are sharing the stories of UFS alumni who are now working at the university.

Nwabisa Dinga, Senior Assistant Officer at the School of Nursing, shares her UFS journey:

Q: Year of graduation from the UFS:

A: 2014.

Q: Qualification obtained from the UFS:
A: BA in Governance and Political Transformation.

Q: Date of joining the UFS as a staff member:
A: 1 September 2022.

Q: Initial job title and current job title:
A: Senior Assistant Officer in the School of Nursing. 

Q: How did the UFS prepare you for the professional world?
A: The University of the Free State taught me to always be professional, communicate effectively, and manage my time wisely – those are some of the major things I have carried into my professional world.
 
Q: What are your thoughts on transitioning from a UFS alumnus to a staff member?
A: The professional world operates in a different way than when you were a student; the mindset shift required is significant and the changes in personal circumstances are huge.

Q: Any additional comments about your experience?
A: The shift from student to professional life can be bewildering, and for some it can take a very long time to adjust.

News Archive

Doctors make history with unique heart operation
2012-04-04

 

Cardiologists at the university delivered the first Melody pulmonary valve in Africa.
Photo: Evert Kleynhans
30 March 2012

Academics of the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of the Free State made history in Africa once again this week with the implant of a special pulmonary heart valve.

“Today we are extremely proud Free State citizens,” Prof. Stephen Brown and Dr. Danie Buys from the UFS Department of Paediatrics and Child Health said after they placed the Medtronic Melody pulmonary valve in two young patients at the Universitas hospital in Bloemfontein.

This is the first time in Africa that the Melody valve is placed.

To date there are currently only 3 000 of these valves place in the world.

“It feels incredible to be part of a team of experts from the faculty.”

The Medtronic Melody valve is delivered percutaneously through a catheter from the groin. This operation is for children and young adults who are born with a malformation of their pulmonary valve.

These children often require open-heart surgery at a very young age and later require additional open-heart surgeries to restore blood flow between the heart and the lungs.

Prof. Brown said that of all congenital diseases, heart disease is most common. A lot of children born with heart disease are diagnosed very late and many die without ever receiving specialised care.

In 2011, Prof. Brown and two other cardiologists from the UFS, Prof. Hennie Theron en Dr JP Theron also reached a medical milestone when they were the first cardiologists in South Africa to do a second generation Medtronic CoreValve implant on an elderly patient.
 

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