2   WITS SPECIAL EDITION JOurNAL 2013

he Physiotherapy Department of 
the University of the Witwaters­

rand was established in 1938 and 
offered a three year diploma in 
physiotherapy. With the foresight of 
Professor Raymond Dart a four­year  
BSc (Physiotherapy) degree was esta­
blished in 1943 making this the oldest 
degree programme in physiotherapy 
in the country. As we celebrate 75  
years of the department and 70 
years of our degree programme this 
special edition showcases some of 
our research. Most of the published 
studies in this edition are from mas­
ters students with two studies that 
contributed towards PhD’s.

Today the department is thriving 
and lively with all staff actively 
engaged in research, teaching both 
undergraduate and post graduate 
students and supervision of post 
graduate students’ research. All the 
staff either have or are engaged 
in studying for higher degrees. We 
currently have six full­time staff 
with PhD’s; three sessional staff with  
PhD’s; seven at various stages of their 
PhD’s (from early protocol develop­
ment to awaiting examiners’ reports!) 
and one completing a master’s degree. 
They teach their specialties from first 
year to a post graduate level and 
supervise both masters and doctoral 
studies. This balance between teaching 
and research means that we are part  
of developing the evidence from which 
we teach and ensures that everyone 
on the staff has the opportunity to 
become a recognised researcher and 
teacher within their specific field.

Our teaching and research is 
deliberately focussed on the health 
needs of the South African population, 

particularly those in the public health­
care system,  and by doing so we hope 
to ensure our continued relevance 
in the efforts to improve the health 
of our population. As such much of 
the research that we have done is in 
the management of chronic disease 
including HIV. Not surprisingly our 
results show yet again the importance 
of exercise and education as the basis 
of many of our interventions. In the 
early days the physiotherapy course 
consisted mostly of exercise and 
over the years went through various 
changes but now again it is clearer  
than ever that our profession is 
based on exercise and we are truly 
“movement and exercise specialists”!. 
The most important difference be­
tween those early years and now is 
that we now have the evidence of 
what works and more importantly 
some evidence of what does not.

We publish in a variety of local 
and international journals and make 
a concerted effort to attend appro­
priate congresses so that staff have 
the opportunity to develop and colla­
borate with international experts. 
These efforts have been underpinned 
by applying for and being awarded a 
number of research grants to support 
these activities and also to give staff 
the opportunity to visit international 
units within their fields. 

 Our post graduate programme 
has grown enormously and we now 
regularly have more than 60 students 
on the programme at any one time. 
We have also experienced an increase 
in both PhD and masters’ degrees 
by research which has been most 
satisfying and are attracting students 
from numerous institutions locally, 

from the rest of Africa and a few from 
outside Africa.

We cannot afford to rest on our 
laurels as we pause for a moment to 
celebrate. We need to continually 
strive to be better: to ensure a 
relevant undergraduate programme 
based on the best available evidence; 
to contribute to the development of 
local appropriate evidence; to have  
an active vibrant post graduate pro­
gramme; to publish regularly; to 
increasingly be involved in large 
well­funded studies; to develop inter­
nationally recognised researchers and 
to ensure that our findings are included 
into clinical practice and service 
delivery.  There is much still to be done 
so that by the time we celebrate our 
centenary we can look back with pride 
on a department that truly fulfils its 
obligations of a university, that is: the 
acquisition of knowledge, the creation 
of knowledge and the application of 
knowledge! 

This edition is dedicated to our 
patients in the clinical settings the 
current, past and future staff and 
undergraduate and post graduate 
students of our department who have 
worked and continue to work so hard 
and with so much enthusiasm. It has 
been a tough journey to get to where 
we are but well worth it.

We also wish to thank the Deputy 
Vice Chancellor Academic’s office, the  
Postgraduate and Research office 
and the Dean’s office of the Faculty 
of Health Sciences as well as the 
support received from the Head of 
the School of Therapeutic sciences  
for making the publication of this 
special edition of the South African 
Journal of Physiotherapy possible.

Editorial for the special edition of the 
South African Journal of Physiotherapy 

to celebrate the Physiotherapy Department 
of the University of the Witwatersrand’s 

75th Anniversary.
Hellen Myezwa PhD,  Aimee Stewart PhD,  Witness Mudzi PhD

Editorial