Division of Rheumatology
Our team??
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?Prof Riette du Toit
After 12 years as senior lecturer in the division, Prof du Toit took over as head of the Division in 2019. She is a current member of the SARAA executive committee, AFLAR SLE special interest group and past Member of the Council of the College of Physicians. She believes in the importance of teamwork to ensure optimal care for the patients served by the division. She guides the team to render a clinical service of the highest possible standards, despite the challenges of working in a resource constraint environment. She is passionate about clinical teaching, and strive to provide an accurate, evidence based but also holistic approach to both under and post graduate students. As researcher Prof du Toit aims to align the research goals of the division with those of the Faculty of Medicine, doing research that will benefit the local and global population and drive meaningful change. She has completed her PhD in Lupus Myocarditis, with national and international recognition at rheumatology and cardiology conferences as well as peer reviewed publications. She continues her research in various organ manifestations of SLE including neuropsychiatric lupus as well as lupus nephritis while also supervising PhD, MMed, MPhil and undergraduate research in a variety of rheumatological topics.
Dr Farzana Moosajee
Dr Moosajee joined the Division in 2019 as senior consultant and lecturer. Her passion for teaching and learning has led her to an MPhil in Health Professions Education, and she is expected to graduate in Dec 2024. Her current research focus on the role of social media in the teaching of rheumatic diseases while she is also actively involved in the supervision of various MMed projects. She is responsible for our Undergraduate teaching program with the support of the rest of the rheumatology team.
Dr Braam Viljoen
Dr Viljoen is a rheumatologist who works as a senior lecturer and consultant in General Internal Medicine at Tygerberg Hospital. His position as Chair of our Undergraduate Committee provides him with valuable insight into the holistic training of our undergraduate medical students. As head of a general medicine firm, he is able to share his passion for rheumatology through his teaching and education during ward rounds to under and postgraduate students working with him. He acts as supervisor for MMed projects in both general medicine as well as rheumatology.
Dr Lisa-May du Plessis
Dr du Plessis is a senior medical officer who has been working in the Division for more than 20 years. Her vast experience in rheumatology and special interest in bed side teaching and radiology makes her an invaluable part of our team. She is directly involved in our undergraduate training program including bed side teaching and tutorials, play a vital role in our clinical service delivery and the administrative and research functions of the division.
Sr Diane Fortuin
Sr Fortuin is the head of the specialist outpatient clinics. She leads her team of nurses and administrative staff with enthusiasm, an exemplary exampls of patient care and aims to maintain the highest possible standard of care. Her passion for patients with rheumatic diseases, in particular that of systemic lupus erythematosus has led to the start of a very active and successful SLE support group at Tygerberg Hospital. She aims to constantly improve care and service delivery through patient surveys and questionnaires. During the 2024 biannual national SARAA congress she was awarded best presentation by an allied health professional for her report on Patient referral pathways at the Rheumatology clinic at Tygerberg Hospital.
Mr Jean Menthu
Mr Menthu is the administrative member of our team, and often our first patient contact person. His diligence, compassion, empathy and patience form an essential part of our patient experience at our clinic, contributing to our holistic patient care. He is a valuable member of our team, providing support to our medical team beyond what is expected.
Rheumatology subspeciality fellows, 2024 / 2025
Our current two rheumatology fellows are Dr Gurveen Soin and Dr Rumbi Dombo. As rheumatologists in training, they play a significant role in our clinical service delivery. There direct involvement contributing to our post graduate training program in f=the form of supervised presentations, play a vital role in the ongoing continuous medical education, as well as stimulating and developing critical thinking of all in the division. Both assist in our under and post graduate (general medical registrars) training program and are enrolled for MPhil research projects during their two year training period. We anticipate the addition of two more fellows for 2025 / 2026.
