4 An interview with Dr. Karlheinz Jehle, president of the South African Urological Association It's been just over a year since Dr. Karlheinz Jehle took over the reins as the president of SAUA. In this interview he shares some insights about his journey into urology, the role of SAUA in dealing with the challenges faced by the rising prostate cancer burden, and how AI and technology are affecting the urology profession. Dr Karlheinz Jehle was educated in Cape Town and graduated MBChB from the University of the Free State in 1998. He obtained his Membership of the Royal College of Surgeons of England in 2006. He returned to Cape Town and completed his urology specialist training at Groote Schuur Hospital in 2011, where he was awarded a master's degree from the University of Cape Town with his dissertation on ultrasound guided prostate biopsies. He was awarded the Philip Smith prize in 2012 as the best postgraduate student in Urology. He was appointed Senior Lecturer in the Division of Urology at Groote Schuur and New Somerset Hospitals until 2018 and maintains an interest in research and medical education. He has a broad interest across the subspecialties of Urology. He is a Fellow and Examiner of the College of Urologists of South Africa, and a member of the South African and European Urological Associations and the International Hypospadias Society. He is the current President of the South African Urological Association. What inspired you to become a urologist? I knew early on that I wanted a surgical career. During my early surgical training in the UK, I rotated for six months in urology. I found the team dynamic and the work environment in urology enjoyable and was drawn to the diversity within the eld, compared to a subspecialisation in general surgery. That experience, along with mentorship from colleagues like Declan Murphy, who was a registrar at the time, inspired me to pursue urology. Being a urologist in private practice must be pretty demanding on your time, so what made you volunteer for the position of President of The South African Urological Association? I put my hand up to get involved as an Exco member a few years ago, because I felt that the association needed more people to share the workload, and our group practice in Cape Town has a long tradition of involvement with the SAUA. I believe it is important to work together as doctors. Professional associations are vital in achieving this and I wanted to contribute my time towards growing our association. What is the biggest challenge facing the Urology profession in South Africa? The biggest challenge is sustainability. We face unprecedented challenges in terms of the future of private practice, the future of urology training and academic urology in South Africa, and the need to address universal access to healthcare. Similarly, internally, our association relies on a handful of people, which in the past has led to burnout and a lack of continuity in projects. I think the SAUA needs better funding, professional management, and an organisational structure that ensures our work continues beyond individual terms of ofce. I hope that during my term at the helm, I can convince my colleagues of this vision for the future.
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