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DUT Graduates Make Pledge to Honour EMC Profession

DUT Graduates Make Pledge to Honour EMC Profession

“Today marks a significant first step in a journey that will define the life you end up living. The people you meet, the patients you save, and the generations that you are likely to impact on. For some of you this journey may never take off, for some it may be short-lived but for most of you this profession will become the life you live and breathe,” said Dr Kevin Govender from the Department of Emergency Medical Care and Rescue at the Durban University of Technology.

He was speaking at the Department of Emergency Medical Care and Rescue’s (EMC’s) annual pledge ceremony which was held at the Ritson campus last Thursday, 30 November 2017. The ceremony commemorates Primum non nocere which is the Latin phrase that means “first, do no harm” and is one of the principal precepts of bioethics that all healthcare students are taught. The ceremony also recognised the top students across the EMC programme with prizes awarded for their academic and practical hard work and dedication to their studies and their department.

1. Top first year student – J. Britz
2. Top second year student – B. Greyling
3. Top third year student -M. Kopo
4. Top fourth year student -S. Bauer
5. Most improved student – T. Youens
6. Outstanding Student Contribution Award – K. Dean
7. Top Overall Student – S. Bauer

In attendance at the ceremony were DUT’s EMC staff, students and parents. The demanding and arduous course that the graduates (emergency care practitioners) undertook for the last four years included being responsible for providing pre-hospital advanced life support and rescue services to severely injured or critically ill patients in austere environments that may result from a multiple motor vehicle accident, flooding, or a fire ravaged or collapsed building. The Department of Emergency Medical Care and Rescue has both a national and international reputation in the education of high-quality, professional emergency care providers who are well sought after across the globe.

Ms Kaylee Dean; the student representative for fourth year and the recipient of the Outstanding Student Contribution Award, said that the last four years had been a rollercoaster ride with many happy moments and many trying moments. “Personally, this has been one of the most difficult experiences I have ever done, from ensuring I keep up my fitness to reaching the skills requirements to passing all practical and theoretical components,” she said. Dean also thanked the EMCR staff and her fellow classmates. She wished everyone success in the paths that they have chosen to embark on.

The top overall student across the four years on the programme was Shaylee Bauer, who was beyond elated upon hearing of her win. “I feel ecstatic as it has been a long four years, but I have always aimed to do my best winning from first year right till my fourth year, so I feel as if I have made history. This is my calling as I always wanted to help people,” she said excitedly. Bauer stressed that participating in rescues was the most difficult part for her but she soon realised that she could do more than she had thought in terms of her practical’s and pushed herself to do. She plans to work and pursue her Master of Health Sciences in Emergency Medical Care degree, by next year, 2018. The ceremony concluded with the pledge whereby the new graduates promised to keep up the greatest sacredness of human life and maintain the noble traditions of the profession.
Pictured: The Department of Emergency Medical Care and Rescue’s (EMC’s) 2017 graduates, at the pledge ceremony.

Waheeda Peters

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