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My purpose is to provide a place of healing.

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PAIN MANAGEMENT

WELLNESS

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Latest Client Review:

”From the first phone call, consultations, procedure – she gave excellent service. You feel so comfortable in her consulting rooms, it feels like heaven” – Mr. Andre Meyer

I’m Dr Caryn April, a medical doctor, who is passionate about inclusive, patient-centred care and chronic pain management.

I have more than a decade of experience in emergency medicine and surgery, having worked in both government and private hospitals throughout South Africa.

I graduated from the University of Cape Town (UCT) in 2010 with a distinction in clinical and final clinical examinations. I won the class medal for surgery and the Donald Barnes prize for the top student in Urology in my final year of medical school. After graduating from UCT, I completed a two-year internship program at the Pietermaritzburg Hospital Complex in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN).

I went on to do my community service at the Khayelitsha District Hospital in the emergency unit and completed my post-graduate Diploma in Primary Emergency Care in 2013. I practiced as a full-time emergency medicine practitioner for the Melomed Hospital Group for the next four years where I managed all types of surgical, medical and paediatric emergencies and assisted in the intensive care units (ICU).

In 2018, I decided to pursue surgery, first as a medical officer and then as a registrar in general surgery at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN).  During that time, I obtained my primary examinations in general surgery, attended numerous surgical skills workshops and performed operations, both emergency and elective, on patients up until 2021.

After losing my father to Covid-19 during the first wave, I decided to relocate back to Cape Town to be closer to my family in February 2021. This life-changing event led me to pursue a career where I could still perform surgical procedures and have a good quality of life.

Pain being at the centre of every condition I have previously treated, but now having the ability to manage this pain with minimally invasive interventional pain procedures. This led me to join the PAIN Collective in February 2021, where I further developed my skills and knowledge of interventional pain procedures. I attended cadaver skills workshops at Stellenbosch University, numerous TrainPain academic courses to advance my knowledge of chronic pain management, as well as the PainSA Congress where I presented my research in two poster presentations.

From the 1st July 2022, I started my independent practice in the Foreshore, where I focus on patient-centred wellness, pain management, and health promotion. Honestly, this is literally my dream being realised, I love what I do, and I am blessed to carry out my passion every day.

The cornerstone of my wellness practice is helping patients with pain, offering them up-to-date and evidence-informed treatment options, and specialising in minimally invasive interventional pain procedures. The purpose of my practice is to restore hope and quality of life by focusing on a therapeutic relationship which promotes wellness, and not only the absence of pain or disease.

I believe in an interdisciplinary team approach to pain management. For this reason, I have formed partnerships and associations with a group of highly-skilled and experienced health professionals which include neurosurgeons, orthopaedic surgeons, physiotherapists, biokineticists, an occupational therapist, a dietician, and a psychologist – all of whom are located on the same floor for your convenience.

My Skills/Experience

EDUCATION

2019:

– Primary of the Fellowship of the College of Surgeons of South Africa
– The College of Medicine South Africa

2013:

– Diploma in Primary Emergency Care
– The College of Medicine South Africa

2005-2010:

– MBChB – Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery with Distinction in Clinical and Final Clinical Examinations
@ University of Cape Town (UCT)

ADDITIONAL PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

2022:

– Good Clinical Practice
– Presenter at Pain Congress SA (Two poster presentations)
– Principles of Pain, Certificate in Pain Management (TRAIN PAIN Academy)
– Prescribing for Pain, Certificate in Pain Management (TRAIN PAIN Academy)

2021:

– Cadaver Skills Workshop at SunSkills Lab – Interventional Pain Procedures (PAIN Collective)

2020:

– Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) (Trauma Society of South Africa)

2017:

– Basic Surgical Skills (Department of Surgery, Faculty of Health Sciences, UCT)

2016:

– Paediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) (Cardiocare, Cape Town)

2015:

– Basic Point of Care Ultrasonography in Emergency Medicine (The College of Emergency Medicine)
– Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS) (Professional Emergency Care, Cape Town)
– Basic Life Support (BLS) (Professional Emergency Care, Cape Town)

2014:

– Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) (Trauma Society of South Africa)
– Basic Assessment and Support in Intensive Care Course (BASIC) (UCT Division of Critical Care)
– Emergency ECG Course (Emergency Care Institute of South Africa)

2013:

– Appeared on BBC documentary Reggie Yates Extreme South Africa as part of
Khayelitsha’s Emergency Unit in a segment on knife crime in South Africa

AWARDS

2010:

Class Medal for General Surgery in Final Year MBChB

2010:

Donal Barnes Prize for best performance in Urology in Final Year MBChB

2009:

1st Prize for Primary Health Care 5th Year MBChB Elective