SA’s youngest female doctor reflects on a ‘rollercoaster’ year as she maps out her future

It was a full-circle moment for South Africa's youngest female doctor Thakgalo Thibela when she bumped into the obstetrician who helped bring her into the world 23 years ago at the same hospital where she was doing her community service.

Thibela had returned to her hometown Bushbuckridge in 2023 to give back to the community that raised her and to be closer to her family.

The 23-year-old made headlines in 2021 when she became SA's youngest female doctor after matriculating at the age of 15 in 2015 with seven distinctions.

She did a two-year internship at Helen Joseph Hospital in Johannesburg before returning to Mpumalanga to do her community service.

“That was intentional because I've always wanted to give back to the community that raised me, and I felt what better way to do that than to be there and service the people on the ground,” she said.

Making things sweeter was the “reunion” with the obstetrician who helped her mother give birth to her.

Thibela said while she'd heard about him from her mother, she didn't know he was at the same hospital until she heard colleagues mention him in conversation.

She plucked up the courage to ask him about the experience, and while he didn't initially recall it, when he saw her mother the memories came flooding back.

“He was so proud. He goes around telling everyone I'm his daughter. It's the cutest thing,” she said.

The bubbly young doctor reflected on the past year and the eye-opening experience she's had working in her hometown. 

“It's been a very enjoyable year. It has had its frustrations, specially because of the poor resources we have. It definitely does make you see the disparity between the village and city. Being in Johannesburg, I was at a tertiary hospital and we had functional [equipment] and it was easier to treat patients because all the departments were there.

“Where I am, for example, we have functional [equipment] but we don't have a doctor to interpret results, which makes it a bit of a challenge because most of us are not very skilled in things like that. Also, if there are complicated surgeries that need to be performed we need to transfer to the nearest hospital.”

Despite the challenges, which made the year “interesting” for her, Thibela said one highlight was the amazing people she's met.

The achievements have not come without battles. Thibela said this year helped bring her out of her shell again after she lost her confidence due to a negative experience at medical school. 

She said she faced bullying and was mocked about her accent. This affected her self-confidence and saw her “literally withdraw” and fear speaking among her peers.

It took advice from a senior doctor and public exposure to help Thibela return to her former self, and doing her community service in her own community. 

“I've really come a long way in terms of being out there. In comms service, you have to teach and supervise junior colleagues who are interns and that has forced me to come out of my shell and interact more.

“That has helped me quite a lot, especially when it comes to rebuilding my self-esteem. I'm really grateful for that,” she said.

Thibela also spoke of the pressure that came with finishing school early, explaining she's felt it from primary school, but the pressure back then had not been as severe as what she experienced in medical school.

“Everyone was expecting me to continue doing what I was doing in high school,” she said. 

A humbling moment came when she failed a test in one of her first-year modules and “felt conflicted” about telling friends and family.

When she eventually did and her mother made light of the situation,  that helped ease her anxiety. 

The pattern repeated itself when she graduated and questions flooded in about what she wanted to do next, but Thibela said she's learnt to “pace myself” and try to recover. 

“There's been quite a lot of pressure but I do understand where people are coming from. I know it's not from a malicious place. They want me to succeed in life and I do appreciate that,” she said.

As Thibela heads towards the end of her community service, the young doctor opened up about what's next for her.

While she initially expressed an interest in neurosurgery after her experience in second year, she has shifted gear after falling in love with three specialities: paediatrics, which she did in the first year of her internship; orthopaedics, which she did in second year, and; anaesthesia, which she's currently doing and “really loving”.

“It has been a rollercoaster, I'm trying to figure out what I want to do but so far I fell in love with three specialities. I was able to do two of those this year but I'm unsure about what I want to do,” she said.

Thibela revealed it was not all rosy in the world of medicine.  

“Medicine has taken a turn in the past few years. It's no longer a secure field. I did know people who were unemployed for a while, so I don't know, I may be one of them.

“The plan is to specialise, but if I get an opportunity to stay here another year I'm definitely not turning that down because I enjoy being here,” she said.

In the bigger scheme of things, she hopes to return to practise in Johannesburg. 

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