The Division of Internal Medicine (GIM) is the largest division in the Department of Medicine at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences and Tygerberg Hospital.
Our clinical services activities are divided into emergency admissions, in-patient care including high care and out-patient services. There are 164 in-patient beds in the division's medical wards. We are organised into five inpatient firms, an Emergency Admissions team, and an Adult Medical High Care Unit. The Division also runs a Medical Outpatient Clinic four times per week. Tygerberg Hospital provides regional and tertiary care to half of the greater Cape Metropole and tertiary care to the adjacent rural districts of the West Coast/Cape Winelands and Boland/Overberg.
We have an active clinical out-reach program to Khayelitsha Hospital, Helderberg Hospital and Karl Bremer Hospital. The out-reach activity includes consultant ward rounds, student and medical officer training and strategic support.
Most of the undergraduate bedside clinical teaching for Internal Medicine takes place in GIM. Students from years 4, 5 and 6 are placed into the clinical teams for clinical rotations for bedside clinical training in Acute Medicine and Ambulatory Care.
The division also accommodates the largest number of postgraduate students (registrars) as part of the MMed Internal Medicine degree and the Colleges of Medicine FCP training programme.
Divisions within Internal Medicine
Division of Pulmonology The Division of Pulmonology at Tygerberg Hospital is engaged in comprehensive education, research, and clinical services related to both respiratory health and critical care. Key clinical focus areas include the comprehensive management of respiratory pathologies, spanning across primary and sub-specialist levels, state of the art diagnostic and therapeutic interventions, and management of complex critically ill patients requiring multi-organ support in conjunction with our team of intensivists.
Division of Rheumatology The Division of Rheumatology is a subspecialty within General Internal Medicine that focuses on immune-mediated inflammatory diseases. We provide comprehensive undergraduate and postgraduate training, advancing research, and delivering exceptional clinical care across the spectrum of rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases. To ensure optimal care for patients with multisystem diseases, we closely interact with various clinical disciplines, including dermatology, pulmonology, nephrology, cardiology, and orthopaedic surgery, as well as our allied health department. This interdisciplinary approach ensures a holistic focus in our clinical care, research, and educational initiatives.
Division of Nephrology The Division of Nephrology manages a satellite haemodialysis unit at Worcester Hospital and we also have patients dialysed at several private centres via public-private initiatives. A full range of services are offered including haemo- and peritoneal dialysis, and renal transplantation. We are actively involved in postgraduate teaching in internal medicine and nephrology, including the training of fellows from outside South Africa.
Division of Haematology At the Division of Haematology we work very closely with the Department of Haematopathology and interact regularly on clinical matters as well as teaching and research.
