Elmarie Basson

I am a Specialist Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, currently working at Christian Barnard Memorial Hospital in Cape Town. I've been running my own practice since 2005 and currently employ 10 people.

Apart from seeing to my daily duties as a doctor (which includes daily consultations, delivering of babies, seeing to high risk patients, doing gynaecological surgery), I am also overseeing the runnings of my practice: I'm in charge of HR, payroll and the overall wellbeing of my business.

I also keep abreast of the latest obstetrical and gynaecological updates by weekly attending updates and seminars and going for regular refresher courses.

My passion is to help people and to help them being the best version of themselves. And I believe in teamwork: if all the horses pull in different directions, the cart won't move. If we all work together, the cart will move forward and climb the highest mountains.

Four very hard and utterly rewarding years. I have learnt all the surgical and clinical skills I needed to become a successful Obstetrician. I have also done my first research article, which was published in the South African Medical Journal.

My final period as a medical officer was spent at Tygerberg Hospital. This is when I finally realised I wanted to become an Obstetrician and Gynaecologist.

Urology was challenging, but fantastic. I use my knowledge I have gained there on a regular basis.

Apart from managing patients, I've learnt to do important procedures, such as supra-pubic catheter insertions and vasectomies. I also have a much better understanding of the anatomy of the female urinary tract.

Watford was completely different to what I was used to. In South Africa )especially the government institutions) we are dealing with huge number of patients. An antenatal clinic usually sees between 60 to 100 patients.

Being exposed to the NHS was an eye opener. I had to learn to slow down and spend more quality time with the patients. A valuable skill that I still use every day in my practice. I also worked in the Obstetrics and Gynaecology department and gained wonderful insights into the field of ultrasound.

Mowbray was the catalyst in my decision to become an Obstetrician. Here I've learnt what it is to work really hard! And that sleep is over-rated!

Mowbray is all about helping women birth safely and I truly honed my skills in this fraternity.

Working with children is a very humbling experience and so rewarding. Here we dealt with an array of peadiatric problems. I found the Burns unit and the Oncology unit to be the most challenging, but emotionally fulfilling, because generally children live from day to day and they taught me to be grateful for all the little things in life.

The first year after qualifying as a doctor, I started working at Groote Schuur Hospital. Your Internship is a very tough year, because you are thrown in the deep end and it is a case of sink or swim!

It was a steep learning curve, but I grew so much as a doctor and as a human being.