Med Pak Interviews Dr P.N. Mafuya from Butterworth , Eastern Cape to celebrate women making a difference in the healthcare sector.

Q: Have you faced any obstacles in your career due to being a woman? If so, how did you overcome them?

A: Yes, there have always been obstacles as a woman you are made to feel inferior by your male counterparts. There is the notion that you cannot balance home/family/marriage and work.

I overcame these obstacles by standing firm in my profession as a health provider and ensuring that my child had a reliable domestic assistant. I engaged with the male doctors and worked equally hard to be recognised.

Q: What is the most important piece of advice you have been given?

A: My parents always told me that I could achieve anything that I put my mind to. I started off studying as a nurse and qualified and went on to study medicine.

Q: How can we encourage more women to pursue healthcare provider roles?

A: Early motivation at schools, gatherings, and churches, career guidance, and mentorship to any females who want to pursue a career in the healthcare sector. Education of the many career paths they may choose eg. nursing, radiography, physiotherapy, speech therapy, psychiatry, and psychology.

Q: What is the most important message you want to send to young women in the healthcare sector?

A: Keep upgrading yourselves to learn more in your field of study, choose a specialty eg. gynaecology, physician, aesthetics.

Q: Why do you think diversity in the workplace is so important?

A: It is important because you can look at other avenues of income other than what you are already doing. Diversity in the workplace allows you to meet people of different cultures, religions, and sexual orientations with different professional backgrounds, who come from different socio-economic backgrounds with different educational backgrounds and with different cognitive abilities. Be up to date with modern technology and changes to methods of different healthcare procedures.

Q: What can healthcare providers do to enhance women’s health in SA?

A: • Women should be given equal opportunities at higher positions within the healthcare sector.
• Provide and promote women’s health clinics eg, breast clinics, regular pap smears for early detection, family planning interventions from early ages and sexual education.
• Introduce mobile services to the rural communities.