Research Development and Support
Registrar Research Support Office
About Us
In 2010, the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) defined new requirements for specialist registration, which included the need for registrars to demonstrate research competence by completing a research project as part of a Master of Medicine.
This has introduced numerous challenges for South African medical training institutions. Key amongst these is the limited time registrars have to complete their research whilst attending to their clinical duties and studying for College exams.
There are several consequences of research non-completion, including delayed specialist registration, which could reduce the number of specialists available for appointment. Another concern is around the quality of research projects that might enter the public domain, and which might have negative consequences for policy, government spending on health, and patient health outcomes.
In response to these challenges, the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences created the MMed Unit in 2014 under the leadership of Professor Robert Gie. Following Prof Gie's retirement in 2018, the Unit has transformed to become the Registrar Research Support Office (RRSO).
Under the management of Dr. Karis Moxley, the RRSO aims to support the development of research capacity amongst specialist (MMed and MPhil) registrars and their research supervisors. The RRSO offers a consultation service and several research training initiatives for this unique group of clinical researchers.
