Friendship Goals: Against All Odds, 7 Female Friends Qualify As Medical Doctors In South Africa

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It is said that no friendship leaves you the same way; it either adds to you or subtract from you. It either makes you think you are smart and can dare much or makes you think though you could be called smart, there are limitations to what your kind can achieve, hence the need for you to be deliberate about who you associate with or your friendship goals.

That said, a group of 7 female friends -(As pictured below: (Front) Moliehi Mareka, Mahlatse Mothiba, Tshepang Motete (Back): Thato Mosehle, Toni Motseoile, Lungile Mkhungo and Lijeng Lefosa have qualified as doctors from the University of the Free State, South Africa and they are ready to step up their game and bring desired changes into the medical profession.

And though doctors in the public sector find themselves working long hours, these friends stated that they are prepared to take it all.

Tshepang Motete, 24 said:

“We are prepared for anything and everything; our MBChB prepared us for the worst. We are confident that we will be able to handle whatever comes our way.”

Motete, originally from Marquard in the Free State, said she was proud to be the first person to become a doctor in her family.

Despite being born and bred in a rural area and being raised by parents who were not professionals, Motete said she was determined to make her dream a reality.

“The fact that I wasn’t born in a family of professionals really played a huge role … because I took a decision to say I’d push against all odds.”

The group started off as classmates and ended up as friends in 2015.

“In our class there were probably 130 students, with only nine black girls, so we grew closer because we could relate to each other.”

Motete said the transition from a rural school with limited or no resources was a bit of a challenge when she reached university.

“It wasn’t easy to adapt to so many changes, for example, we had to use technological devices a lot. Staying at the university’s residence really made a difference because senior students were there to help us.”

Originally from the North West province, Thato Mosehle, 23, also said she was the first one to qualify as a doctor in her family. She expressed no fears for the future, but does have a concern about patients’ mindsets.

She said:

“I believe our programme prepared us for anything really. However, I am just concerned about stereotypes among our people. There are patients who would prefer an older (nursing) sister over a young doctor. There are males who prefer to be attended to by other males, but I am strong enough to handle all that.”

Mosehle stated further that she was shocked when a social media user commented on her picture, saying: “Congrats on your qualification, I hope you will treat us like white doctors.”

Asked why she chose medicine as her field of study, Mosehle said: “I didn’t only see a lack of doctors in my community, but a lack of black doctors, generally.”

Despite the need to break a generational cycle, Mosehle said her mom used to tell her how she wished she had opportunities and resources to study. She postulated that that was what motivated her to grab the opportunity with both hands because she is young. She also hopes to be a role model to young black girls who may have aspirations to become medical doctors, too.

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Asked about the future, the friends said their mission was to make a difference in the health system. “Giving back and serving our communities is something really close to us,” said Mosehle.

The group will officially graduate on December 6, 2018.

Taking to her Instagram page, Thato wrote: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith❤️”. God made it possible! I’m elated ???????? #DrTT“

She captioned their achievement, “SQUAD GOALS???????????? #Squad #womenofGod #slayers #fresh #outthebox #onlyakovsieknowsthefeeling #timeslive”

See her post below:

Congratulations to y’all!

CREDIT: TimesLive