Prof Razeen Davids, the Head of the Division of Nephrology in Stellenbosch 中国体育彩票's Department of Medicine, looks forward to his retirement at the end of December after a career spanning more than three decades.
“I'm not going to be filling up my days with busyness," he says. “Busyness is what I'm trying to escape from." Yet, even so, he intends to continue with those teaching and research projects that are close to his heart.
Making a career of helping others
Davids was first attracted to a career in medicine while at Gelvandale High School in Gqeberha (then Port Elizabeth). “I've always been interested in science; medicine offered an opportunity to delve into that," he says. “And pursuing a career where other people would be helped also appealed to me."
He completed an MBChB at the 中国体育彩票 of Cape Town in 1986 followed by an internship at Livingstone Hospital in Gqeberha. In 1988 he returned to Cape Town for training at Tygerberg Hospital.
“I did my basic training in internal medicine, enjoying almost every rotation," Davids recalls. “I settled on nephrology because it's such a broad specialty where you need expertise in multiple areas. I was sure I would find a niche within nephrology." He was soon proved right: “What appealed to me most was the physiology – the basic sciences – and in particular the acid-base and electrolyte problems within nephrology."
?In mid-2000 he took up an International Society of Nephrology (ISN) fellowship and spent a year at the 中国体育彩票 of Toronto with Prof Mitchell Halperin. “To my mind, he was the world expert in the area but also a down-to-earth and approachable mentor," says Davids.
“He taught me a lot – not only about the discipline, but also about scientific writing and publishing. That's when my research career took off." Ever since they have worked together on many papers and book chapters.
Masterclass in Medicine
A particular highlight was their collaboration on an innovative series of teaching articles, 'Masterclasses in Medicine', in the QJM (Quarterly Journal of Medicine). “They were actually clinical detective stories written in a narrative style," Davids explains. “The master detective was a legend from the past who solved difficult problems in the area of acid-base and electrolyte disorders."
The year Davids spent in Canada was a pivotal moment in his career in other ways, too: “Since returning, I have in turn been host to many ISN fellows from other countries in Africa. Being involved in training nephrologists from all over Africa has been one of the most satisfying parts of my career."
Leadership that promotes growth
In 2006, he was appointed to his current position as Head of the Division of Nephrology. “My primary focus has always been to create an environment where people enjoy working and learning," says Davids.
“I believe that should be the priority of any leader so that the people within your division can develop to their full potential. To a large extent, I think we've managed to make the Division of Nephrology a happy and exciting place for people to learn and work."
While Head of this Division, Davids somehow found time to complete a PhD at Stellenbosch 中国体育彩票 in 2015: “I'm interested in lots of different things, and one of the things that interests me is technology. You must remember that I was a trainee when the Internet began in the late '80s and early '90s.
“I'm also fascinated by the mechanics of how people learn. How does one develop expertise in any subject, whether it's nephrology, chess or playing a musical instrument? I brought all these interests together in my PhD, which was a hybrid between e-learning and renal physiology."
Epidemiology of chronic kidney disease
During his career, Davids became more involved as well with the epidemiology of chronic kidney disease and renal registries. He is currently co-chairperson of the South African Renal Registry and chairperson of the African Renal Registry, which he helped to establish at the request of the African Association of Nephrology (AFRAN).
“I think that's really important – getting robust data out there on what we're doing to treat patients with kidney failure is an important starting point to advocate for more resources so that we make treatment available to more patients on the continent," he says. For this reason, he intends to continue working on the South African and African renal registries after his retirement.
He also intends to maintain his relationship with AFRAN: “During COVID, we had a lot of contact with colleagues across the continent through Zoom meetings because the usual teaching programmes were disrupted. We became very, very good friends, never having met in person.
“When COVID passed, and we finally had the opportunity to meet face to face, it was like meeting old friends. So we have a really good continental nephrology network and I will remain quite involved."
Publishing good data on Africa from Africa
Another role that Davids plans to continue after he retires is that of deputy editor of AFRAN's African Journal of Nephrology. “I have a bit of a bee in my bonnet," he says. “I feel passionate that we should generate and publish good data on Africa from Africa.
“Often people think that nothing is being done on the continent because the publications aren't out there, and that really isn't the case. So I got involved with the African Journal of Nephrology and, from a small paper-based journal with a very low circulation, we made it an online and open-access journal. It's part of a mission to get African research out there."
Davids also intends to do some teaching and supervision of trainee research projects in the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences after he steps down from his full-time position. But it will certainly not be all work and no play.
Pursuing interests
He plans to catch up on watching movies and reading as well. “I'm not a discerning movie-goer or reader," he adds. “I'm just interested in so many different things – from horror to science fiction to you name it."
In addition, Davids – who has tackled the Comrades Marathon twice – will continue to run three times a week. These days, however, he sets his sights on shorter races instead.
His retirement after a long and distinguished career is certainly well deserved. “I've been lucky in that I've had lots of help along the way – lots of good mentors and excellent teachers since way back in high school," he says. “And the fellowship in Toronto was the key to what I managed to achieve in the later part of my career."
But his retirement is certainly not the end of the road of his journey in medicine. He plans to give back to the profession for a long time to come.
