More than 2000 prospective healthcare students and their parents attended Stellenbosch University's (SU) Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (FMHS) first face to face (F2F) Open Day in two years this past weekend.

The Open Day event, which was held at Stellenbosch University's Tygerberg Campus, showcased the FMHS's academic, accommodation, sports and social offering. The FMHS undergraduate academic offering includes degrees in Dietetics, Medicine and Surgery (MBChB), Nursing and Midwifery, Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy and Speech-Language and Hearing Therapy.

The Open Day event, which was managed through a ticketing system to ensure adherence to Covid-19 protocols, included information sessions on application and selection processes, led by Mrs Anthea Roberts from the FMHS selection and recruitment office. 

Prof Elmi Muller, Dean of the FMHS welcomed learners and their parents: “It's wonderful to see so many people who want to follow a career in healthcare. Having a career in healthcare affords one the opportunity of making a difference to someone every day. If you choose this career path, you will have the opportunity to do essential and impactful work." 

Muller further stressed that healthcare career paths may lead to other avenues such as research or laboratory work. “In health sciences, there are some out-of-the-box options, including opportunities in artificial intelligence. We have a wonderful infrastructure here at Tygerberg Campus and a dynamic group of people experienced in driving education on the undergraduate and postgraduate levels. We look forward to welcoming you here." 

Dr Derick van Vuuren, the FMHS's MBChB coordinator explained the changes in the MBChB (Medicine) curriculum, which was introduced for the first time in 2022. “The health system is under pressure from several perspectives, including technological innovations and epidemiological and demographic transitions and health professionals link all these changes. This is why the emphasis and focus of our undergraduate health sciences curricula has shifted." 

Dr Evette van Niekerk, the programme coordinator for the BSc in Dietetics, said this programme also has a modified curriculum, which includes anatomy, human physiology, food production and systems and community nutrition. “Essentially dietitians develop policies and programmes that help people improve their eating patterns and health." 

Dr Nicola Plastow from the Division of Occupational Therapy, explained that the role of Occupational Therapists is to “enhance people and communities ability to engage in the occupations they want to do, need to do or are expected to do by modifying the occupation or the environment to better support their occupational engagement." 

The FMHS's department of Nursing and Midwifery and divisions of, Speech-Language and Hearing Therapy and Physiotherapy also presented their unique offering to prospective students. 

The Open Day event offered stalls hosted by various academic departments, student support divisions and current FMHS students, where prospective students could learn more about the FMHS as a place of study. ​