Dr Gertrude Thusi - Alumnus

Dr Gertrude Thusi, born in a rural area of KwaNgwanase next to the border of Mozambique, felt that she needed more medical expertise to make an impact on the high burden of kidney disease in her rustic community.

A University of KwaZulu Natal graduate, she developed a passion for Nephrology during her specialization as a Physician rotating through the Renal Unit in Durban.

“I was touched by the number of patients that I used to see coming for dialysis; coming from the borders of Swaziland and Mozambique, which is 500km away - you could see that they were drained, hungry and in pain.”

Having completed her Renal Fellowship at WDGMC, Dr Thusi took her highly specialized skill back to her rural community where her established practice now serves both Richardsbay and Empangeni. She is the only Nephrologist in the entire Northern KwaZulu Natal region.

“Today patients do not need to go to Durban, they can now come to Ngwelezane Hospital for Dialysis, which is half the distance. The quality of life of patients in the Dialysis Units I am visiting has improved significantly and that gives me a lot of fulfillment.

The training experience at WDGMC is so unique; I was overwhelmed with the high level of care which I was not used to, at WDGMC the patient comes first.”