Homegrown lifesaver

Nathan Zulu is a young doctor who works at the Oshakati state hospital in the north. The Unam graduate believes for any doctor to make it in the medical field they should possess empathy and should value human life. “A good doctor has to be able to see beyond the disease process and view a client holistically, as an individual, who is part of a functioning society. For instance, a patient with a certain ailment may be the only breadwinner of the family and his or her incapacitation may go way beyond the bedside and trickle down to the children that are in school, to the workplace and eventually to an entire community,” said Zulu.For Zulu success is not equal to material possessions or the amount of money a person has in their back account. “I define success as impacting the world with the investment of your personality. In other words, one should work on being the driving force of positive change rather than work on having material gains,” shared Zulu.The medical doctor says the one thing that amazes and keeps him humble as a medical specialist is the hope and enthusiasm his patients have even though they are going through some difficulties. “It's always a great feeling seeing someone who was very ill finally smile and leave the hospital happy. But what I find more amazing are people who still continue to smile even when they fully understand that the prognosis of a certain ailment isn't so promising from a medical perspective. In as much as this evokes a sense of introspection, I find the cheerfulness healing to the heart,” shared Zulu. As a medical doctor, he says he has to put up with late nights and countless hours of research in order to perfect his knowledge and skills in the medical field. “A good doctor should be able to see this and take measures to prevent adverse outcomes; this may mean staying up at night to research on current and upcoming interventional measures of disease, motivating for rare resources like dialysis, and so on,” said Zulu.He continues saying the most frustrating and disappointing thing about being a medical doctor is that sometimes he cannot help his patients due to the seriousness of their ailment or the progress or the effects that a disease has on the patients. “It can get frustrating at times when you don't get the results or the response you hope for after an intervention, regardless of whether it's medical or surgical. And in certain cases, there is very little one can do either due to extensive disease progression, or a lack of resources,” said ZuluZulu knows that his job is very important and even though the hours he works are very tiring, saving lives is the most important thing for him. “Another thing I find not so appealing are the long working hours as it can be very draining at times. Nevertheless, a long night is always worthwhile if a life is saved,” shared Zulu. Trained in Namibia as part of the first batch of medical graduates, Zulu says it is very daunting and sometimes being a locally-produced doctor comes with its pressures - but he has managed to overcome them. “I think there is always pressure from within to have a certain level of competency given that your decisions may be a matter of life and death at times. Additionally, as a pioneer I seek to be a good example to my juniors in terms of the level of knowledge, skills and professionalism I have,” says Zulu.The medical practitioner says the most fulfilling moment and one he will forever cherish is when he saved the life of a patient with a ruptured uterus. “The patient arrived in an unconscious state and after a quick assessment I realised she had ruptured her uterus during childbirth. I knew we had to act quickly and did so. To cut the story short, she survived and the rest is history. It was great to see her smile the next morning,” shared Zulu. He recalls the first time he went to the medical wards and says it was a poignant visit that had an impact on what he thought of as his career choice. “The first time I went to the wards was in my second year of medical school. It was a bittersweet experience in the sense that I was excited to be in this environment that I would be spending most of my life in but at the same time knew very little. I didn't understand some of the terminology used and it seemed like I was of little help to the personnel and was more like a nuisance,” shared Zulu.Zulu says he has always wanted to be a medical doctor and credits his father who is a nurse as one of the people who inspired him to become a doctor. “I have always wanted to do medicine ever since I can remember. The fact that my dad is a nurse probably has something to do with that. But that aside, I was so intrigued with how the human body functions both structurally and physiologically while in high school,” says Zulu. He says another reason why he wanted to be a medical doctor is because he loves working with people. “The interaction with people from different spheres of life is amazing and the privilege of being involved and helping make a difference in their lives is satisfying. Looking back, I wouldn't do anything different,” shared Zulu.Since the medical field is very broad Zulu has to major in a certain aspect. “I have learned that I can't be a jack of all trades as the medical field is too broad and will eventually have to specialise. I am thinking of specialising in Pathology or Urology,” shared Zulu.Shona Ngava

Homegrown lifesaver

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Namibian Sun 2025-03-19

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Homegrown lifesaver

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Namibian Sun 2025-03-19

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