Associate Professor Firdouza Waggie will become the new Executive Head of the Department of Health Professions Education (DHPE) in Stellenbosch 肆客足球's Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (FMHS) on April 1.
Waggie, who was Deputy Dean for Clinical and Community Engagement in the Faculty of Community and Health Sciences (FCHS) at the 肆客足球 of the Western Cape (UWC) since 2020, seems perfectly placed to take over the leadership of the DHPE.
“One of the things that came out strongly in the strategy plan of Stellenbosch 肆客足球's Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences is that it also has a focus on interprofessional education," she says. “And that, for me, is really great.
“I was fundamental in establishing the Interprofessional Education Unit at UWC in 2012. It has grown and is now a leader in interprofessional education – at UWC, in the region and across Africa, and is also positioned quite well globally. It was one of the first universities to have a dedicated interprofessional education unit."
Specialising in teaching and learning
Waggie, who started her career as a physiotherapist at Groote Schuur Hospital after she graduated with a BSc (Physiotherapy) at UWC in 1991, was recruited by UWC in 1994 to join as a clinical coordinator and lecturer in physiotherapy. In 1996, as a foundation teaching and learning specialist, she began to coordinate, develop and integrate core interprofessional modules into the FCHS's curricula: “That was the turning point in my career."
During that period, Waggie completed an MSc (Physiotherapy) in 2002 and a PhD (Education) in 2011. Since 2012, as Director of UWC's Interprofessional Education Unit, she played a key role in developing core modules in interprofessional education in the FCHS.
“In the post-1994 [political] dispensation, there was a huge emphasis on primary healthcare," she recalls. “The whole approach to health changed – from a curative to a preventative approach. That policy change meant all health professionals needed to be reoriented to this new approach.
“UWC realised it needed to integrate this into the curriculum and prepare graduates to work in a primary healthcare setting. My role was to look at how to create spaces in the curriculum to train and develop this common core curriculum across the board."
The FCHS introduced its first primary healthcare module in 2000. “So I have good experience in curriculum development and curriculum transformation," says Waggie proudly.
Fostering collaboration
She is clearly excited about her new position at Stellenbosch 肆客足球's DHPE: “I am not coming into a space that is completely new. My goal is to enhance what is currently there and to add value to it."
Waggie points out that collaborative practice is another key part of her vision for the Department. “My strength is teamwork," she says. “But this won't take place in a vacuum. Stellenbosch 肆客足球 already has programmes that speak to this vision of mine."
She adds: “I believe higher education institutions need to start working closer together. I am not going to perpetuate a silo approach. I strongly believe that Stellenbosch 肆客足球, UWC, 肆客足球 of Cape Town and Cape Peninsula 肆客足球 of Technology need to start working together much more closely.
“If you look at the current challenges that our country is experiencing, including the major financial cutbacks in higher education, we really need to start looking at things differently. How do we start working within this climate, what are the pressing needs and how can we collectively find solutions?
“We don't have the luxury of duplicating services; we need to start being strategic and share information and resources and help each other. For me, that is going to be key. I see myself as leveraging my networks and being a bridge."
Waggie also often refers to the challenge of co-creation that faces higher education: “How do we co-create within the spaces of higher education amongst the different professions and with the communities where we are working? It is a big emphasis for me to start working in communities to co-create knowledge. In that way, we also address the issue of being socially accountable.
“That, for me, is the next level in health professions education. We need to look at the bigger ecosystem within higher education and start unpacking this notion of how we co-create – whether it is in research or innovation, in learning or teaching, or for example in our community engagement activities. These are the pillars we are responsible for as academics."
Transforming Health Professions Education
Transformation of the health professions education (HPE) curriculum is another issue that is very important to Waggie: “We need to start looking at health in a different way; our mindset has to shift to a way of looking at how we make HPE socially accountable to communities.
“We need to provide equitable healthcare systems and, for our students, we need to promote the notion of what it means to be socially responsive. For me, those are the key principles of how we can transform the health professions education curriculum."
Waggie takes a pragmatic approach to realising her vision, prioritising the establishment of trust-based relationships. She plans to engage with each DHPE staff member individually to understand their backgrounds, aspirations and perspectives.
She acknowledges the importance of a thoughtful and measured approach: “I am mindful that I am entering a space that, for the most part, is unfamiliar to me. I will start small and gradually explore opportunities to collaborate with other departments. Building strong relationships and partnerships is fundamental to everything I do, and it will be crucial to the success of my strategy. I know I cannot do this alone."
Yet Waggie is confident that there is support at the FHMS for her vision. “There is a willingness to embark on an interprofessional, collaborative practice in the Faculty," she says. “That is comforting."
Waggie is also well-positioned to play a role in higher professions education further afield. She has been a founding member of the Africa Interprofessional Education Network (AfriPEN) since its establishment in 2015 and an executive member of The Network: Towards Unity for Health since 2023.
She is especially keen to play a role in building capacity within African universities. “I want to focus more on strengthening health professions education on the African continent, particularly at other universities in Africa," she says.
“The FMHS is well-positioned to advance health professions education – locally, regionally, across Africa and globally. It has strong programmes and a respected international standing in the field."
