Meet Cape’s TikTok doc

FROM a community riddled with gangsterism and crime, Dr Randall Ortel has risen above his circumstances.

Today, he is a family medicine physician at Groote Schuur Hospital and a lecturer in the health science faculty at UCT.

More recently, the Manenberg resident has promoted medical content on TikTok in a manner which everyone understands.

His content is based on what he sees and treats in hospital day to day. This includes: what patients think of face masks being scrapped; definition of what an emergency is; termination of pregnancy; and, factors discouraging people from using a state medical facility.

Dr Ortel said he was passionate about medicine and healthcare.

“Why TikTok? It was mainly to debunk a lot of the myths out there about healthcare but now functions more as a community teaching tool on common medical ailments.

“It also gives me a chance to talk about what I love and present it in a less serious manner with no medical jargon. The topics are based on the common questions asked by healthcare users, common conditions and common misconceptions.

“The difficult situations are present daily and my job, as a physician, is to be a problem solver or be of assistance to the healthcare user as much as possible. The decision in healthcare is governed by the four pillars of ethics: autonomy, beneficence, non maleficence and justice.

“I treat everyone as though they were my most loved relative. For me, this is the gold standard of treatment. This makes the decisions easier and I sleep peacefully at night knowing I have given it my best,” he said.

He encourages the public not to be afraid of visiting government health-care facilities. “Hospitals are scary as you are in a vulnerable and helpless situation and you are at the mercy of someone else to nurse you back to health. This is understandable and that fear is valid. However, there is no reason to die from a treatable ailment out of fear of entering a state facility.

“Long waiting times, especially at primary health-care level (have stopped people from visiting facilities). However, I’ve made it my duty to make people aware of the services that (government) healthcare provides.

“I’ve also met a lot of patients who were referred from the private sector after medical aid funds ran out and were pleasantly surprised by the quality of healthcare they were given.”

Dr Ortel was introduced to TikTok by a colleague in March and has more than 14 000 followers and close to 50000 likes.

“TikTok is quick and really easy to use. They thought it through really well and I can role-play my content to the students I teach at UCT. (I would like to) encourage the youth to join the academic world and strive to make their dreams a reality,” he said.

A TikTok follower said: “The genuine passion which Dr Ortel has for people has driven him to reinvent the traditional way of how we educate our communities and using the TikTok platform makes information accessible to every resident across the spectrum.

“His videos and live question and answer sessions drive essential messages home, in an informative and even humorous way. I am an avid follower of his work.”

A member of the Solidarity Doctors Network Advisory Board, Dr Angelique Coetzee, said Dr Ortel was doing a good job.

“We need to encourage and acknowledge positive people trying to make a difference. We need more doctors like Dr Ortel to educate the people in the language they understand,” she said.

For more, follow: @dr.randallortel on TikTok.