G u e s t E d i t o r i a l A T r i b u t e t o M o l l y L e v y L o is D y e r , H o n o r a r y L if e V i c e P r e s i d e n t , SASP t is n early fifty y ears ag o th a t I first m e t M olly Levy. I h ad ju s t left E n g lan d as a trad itio n ally e d u c ated p h y sio th e ra p ist to w o rk in Jo h an n esb u rg . F ro m the m o m e n t I arrived, M olly and Jim m y, h e r w o n d erfu lly su p p o rtiv e h usb an d, d id ev ery th in g p o ssib le to m a k e m e w elco m e. T h e y c o n tin u e d to h elp m e in m a n y w ay s o v e r the y ears an d w e m a in tain e d a so lid friend sh ip. I w as su rp rised an d d elig h te d to d isco v er that M o lly w as am on g tho se w h o h ad p io n e e re d and d ev e lo p e d a fou r-y e ar d e g ree c o u rse at the W itw atersran d U n iversity, fo r p h y sio ­ th e rap y stu d en ts, stu d y in g in clo se co n tac t w ith m edical stu ­ d ents. S he w o rk ed in d ire c t c o lla b o ra tio n w ith P ro fesso r Jea n B lair, w h o, until h e r death, w as an H o n o rary L ife V ice-P resid en t o f the S ou th A frican Society. C lin ician s w ere in tim a te ly in v o lv ed in teac h in g stu d en ts and as I w as ap p o in ted in ch arg e o f the clin ic al p h y sio th e rap y se r­ v ices, at the Jo h an n esb u rg G en eral H o spital (la te r H illb ro w H o sp ital), I w as p riv ile g ed to c o -o p e ra te w ith the aca d em ic staff in the rew a rd in g sp here o f stu d en t e d u c atio n . T h e v ery p o sitiv e o u tco m e o f sk illed an d w ell e d u c ated g ra d u ates w as in n o sm all w ay a ttrib u tab le to M o lly L e v y ’s v isio n an d dedicatio n. M o lly q u ick ly in v o lv ed m e in the affairs o f the S o u th A frican S o c ie ty o f P h y sio th erap y w ith w h ic h I h av e b een p ro u d ly and h ap p ily asso cia te d e v e r sin ce an d re m a in a su p p o rtiv e an d e n th u ­ siastic H o n o rary L ife V ice-P resid en t. T h e c o n trib u tio n s M olly m a d e in so m a n y w ay s to the p ro fe ss io n as a w h o le an d the S o c ie ty in p articu lar, are in d e lib le m ilesto n e s in th e ir in tertw in ed history. H e r d eath has m a d e m e refle c t o n h e r ach iev em en ts. T h ro u g h m any d ifficu lt tim es M olly n e g o tia te d su p erb ly w ith d ig n ity and c o m m o n sen se at natio nal an d intern atio n al level. S he w as d e te r­ m in ed to e sta b lish an d m a in tain acc e p ta b le stan d a rd s o f p ra ctice an d re sp e c t fo r the p ro fessio n . H e r effo rts w ere re w a rd e d d u rin g h e r lifetim e as the S o c ie ty and its in d iv id u al m e m b e rs are ev e ry ­ w h ere h eld in h ig h esteem . I f she w ere h ere to w o rk fo r p h y sio th e ra p y fo r the n e x t 50 y ears, w h at w o u ld be h er o bjectiv es? S he w o u ld u n d o u b ted ly reco g n ise th a t the first b attle has b een w o n in th a t the p ro fe ssio n is now an in teg ral an d essen tial p a rt o f the S o u th A fric a n h ealth serv ices. N o w it is tim e to acc elerate ch an g es, the m o st im p o rtan t are, to en su re th a t p h y sio th e ra p y p ra ctices are b a se d on clinical rese arch , to e n su re effec tiv en ess, to p ro v id e a m a jo r in p u t at p ri­ m a ry care level an d to reco g n ise the im p o rtan ce o f h u m a n co n tac t an d em p ath y in a h ig h ly tech n ica l w o rld o f h ealth care. O u r p ra c ­ tice n eed s to sp read o u tsid e the co n fin es o f h osp ital w alls. M o st p eo p le w h o c an b e n e fit fro m o u r sk ills d o n o t live p erm a n e n tly in h o sp ita l. T h is is p artic u larly re le v a n t to the ch a lle n g e s in S o u th A fric a w ith its h u g e u n m e t needs. T each ing an d sh arin g o f sk ills w ith o th ers, b e they fam ily and carers o r o th e r p ro fessio n a ls is an o th er e ssen tial asp e c t o f p ra ctice w h ich is so m etim e s only g ru d g in g ly accepted. M u ch lip serv ice is paid to the p h ra se “ m u lti-d isc ip lin a ry ” b u t fa r too o fte n it is n o t a reality. A n u n ac cep ta b le a m o u n t o f tim e is m is-sp e n t by h ig h ly an d ex p e n siv ely ed u cated p h y sio th e ra p ists u n d ertak in g tasks w h ich co u ld m o re a p p ro p riately be d eleg a te d to o th ers. C h an g in g this w o u ld release tim e fo r p h y sio th e ra p ists to en h a n c e th e ir skills as e d u c ato rs, teac h ers, rese arch ers an d m a n ag ers w h ic h is so vital in a rap id ly c h a n g in g w o rld . T h e g re a te st trib u te the p ro fe ssio n co u ld m a k e to h e r w o uld be to fo llo w h er ex am p le o f d e te rm in a ­ tio n an d in teg rity an d d e m o n stra te the w illin g n ess to p a rtic ip a te in the h ard w o rk in v o lv ed in effec tin g ch an g e. N o p ro g re ss can be m a d e w ith o u t ch a n g e b u t w h at M o lly L ev y w o uld h av e w ish ed is th a t the ch an g es are w ell th o u g h t th ro u g h and alw ay s c o n trib u t­ ing to w a rd s m a k in g p h y sio th e rap y m o re acc essib le, affo rd ab le an d acc ep ta b le in o rd e r to en su re th a t p h y sio th e rap y is re le v a n t to all th o se w h o co u ld m o st b e n e fit in Sou th A frica. T h e h a rd w o rk an d resu ltan t ach iev em en ts o f this rem ark ab le an d lov ed frie n d an d co lle ag u e stan d as a m e m o rial to her, fo rm ­ ing a so lid b ase o n w h ich to build. W e n eed to h o n o u r an d rev ere g re at p h y sio th e ra p ists, o f w h ich M o lly L ev y is one. Because we realize that YOU are our most important customer, w e ’re doing everything we can to continuously improve our service. In m ost day to day dealings, one finds business em phasis is not on cu stom er service. But as an A m erican com pany bring­ ing you career opportunities in the U nited States, we know the im portance o f cu stom er service, and feel it is our oblig a­ tion to let you know w hat you can expect in a punctual, hon ­ est, and professional manner. In order to prove our com m itm ent to custom er satisfaction, Interim T herapy Services has relocated corporate staff m em ­ bers to head up our office in South A frica. Now we are more readily available than ev er before to meet w ith you and your family, answ er your questions, and discuss specific career opportunities. So, d o n ’t be surprised w hen you call in and you hear a strange accent. It only m eans that y o u ’re one step closer to a brand new career in the good o l’ USA! Call us today! In i ̂ im T h e r a p y S e r v i c e s P O B o x 5 7 4 , U m d lo ti B e a c h 4 3 5 0 S o u th A fric a Tel: 031 568 2 2 0 6 F ax : 031 5 6 8 2 2 0 7 % V ' i>/qE -M a il: s h o k e y @ u s a .n e t 2 SA J o u r n a l o f Ph ysio th er a p y 1998 V o l 54 No 2 R ep ro du ce d by S ab in et G at ew ay u nd er li ce nc e gr an te d by th e P ub lis he r (d at ed 2 01 3. ) mailto:shokey@usa.net