Caroline Nompozolo (17 August 1916 - 7 April 2008) was the first native South African woman to qualify as a physician. She studied medicine at the School of Medicine of the Scottish Medical Royal Colleges and was later house surgeon at

St Charles' Hospital St Charles' Hospital is a health facility in North Kensington, London. It is managed by the Central London Community Healthcare NHS Trust. History The foundation stone for the hospital was laid in 1879 and it was officially opened by the Prince ...

Early education

She was educated at Healdtown High School in Eastern Cape Province, where

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela ( , ; born Rolihlahla Mandela; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist and politician who served as the first president of South Africa f ...

was later a pupil from 1937. She went on to study science at South African Native College, Fort Hare in Alice in the

Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape ( ; ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, and its largest city is Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth). Due to its climate and nineteenth-century towns, it is a common location for tourists. It is also kno ...

. The South African Native College, later the

University of Fort Hare The University of Fort Hare () is a public university in Alice, Eastern Cape, Alice, Eastern Cape, South Africa. It was a key institution of higher education for Africans from 1916 to 1959 when it offered a Western-style academic education to ...

, was founded in 1916 on the site of a former British military garrison. The College offered European-style higher education; alumni include Nelson Mandela,

Oliver Tambo Oliver Reginald Kaizana Tambo (27 October 191724 April 1993) was a South African anti-apartheid politician and activist who served as President of the African National Congress (ANC) from 1967 to 1991. Biography Childhood Oliver Tambo was ...

and

Robert Mugabe Robert Gabriel Mugabe (; ; 21 February 1924 – 6 September 2019) was a Zimbabwean revolutionary and politician who served as Prime Minister of Zimbabwe from 1980 to 1987 and then as President from 1987 to 2017. He served as Leader of th ...

. Nompozola's ambition, however, had always been to study medicine. In 1937, after completing the first year of science course, she applied to the

University of St Andrews The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, f ...

in Scotland to study medicine, but was rejected as the university did not recognise the South African Native College. Her examination passes were however recognised by the School of Medicine of the Scottish Medical Royal Colleges, to which she successfully applied to study medicine. As the first black women to do this her story was reported in the press."Before she sailed for Europe she was met at nearly every railway station by teachers, journalists and clergymen who wished her Godspeed".

Medical education

The Principal of the School of Medicine, Professor John Orr, accepted her application and arranged for her to be admitted as a medical student to Anderson's College, Glasgow, where she studied anatomy and physiology, with further classes then taken at

St Mungo's College The Glasgow Royal Infirmary (GRI) is a large teaching hospital. With a capacity of around 1,000 beds, the hospital campus covers an area of around , and straddles the Townhead and Dennistoun districts on the north-eastern fringe of the city cen ...

, Glasgow, both part of the extramural school. Her clinical training was carried out at

Glasgow Royal Infirmary The Glasgow Royal Infirmary (GRI) is a large teaching hospital. With a capacity of around 1,000 beds, the hospital campus covers an area of around , and straddles the Townhead and Dennistoun districts on the north-eastern fringe of the city cen ...

and the

Western Infirmary The Western Infirmary was a teaching hospital situated in Yorkhill in the West End of Glasgow, Scotland, that was managed by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde. It was opened in 1874 and closed in 2015. History After the University of Glasgow moved ...

, the two main Glasgow teaching hospitals. She qualified as a doctor with the

Triple Qualification The Triple Qualification (TQ) was a medical qualification awarded jointly by the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh and the Faculty (later Royal College) of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow betwe ...

in 1942.

Medical career

She received funding to travel to Dublin for postgraduate courses in midwifery and paediatrics. In 1953 she was a house surgeon at the St Charles Hospital in West London. She died in Bridgewater, Somerset, England on 7 April 2008.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nompozolo, Caroline South African women physicians 1916 births 2008 deaths