Medical Registrar – Psychiatry

This position offers a valuable opportunity for a qualified medical practitioner to join the Department of Health at Dr George Mukhari Academic Hospital as a Medical Registrar specialising in Psychiatry. Based within the Directorate of Clinical Services, the role is focused on delivering comprehensive, high-quality mental health care to patients while simultaneously contributing to the academic and training mission of the hospital. As a registrar, you will be embedded in a busy tertiary-level academic environment, working alongside specialists and other healthcare professionals to manage complex psychiatric presentations and support the broader referral network across the hospital’s drainage area.

Candidates must hold an MBChB degree or an appropriate qualification that permits registration with the Health Professions Council of South Africa as a Medical Practitioner. You must be registered with the HPCSA as an independent medical practitioner and maintain current registration. While not mandatory, possession of Part 1 of the FC Psych is considered a distinct advantage, as is a six-month rotation in a Psychiatry unit as a Medical Officer or a Diploma in Mental Health. These additional credentials will strengthen your application and reflect a commitment to the specialty.

The duties are wide-ranging and clinically demanding. You will be responsible for offering comprehensive medical care to psychiatric patients, managing referrals and transfers from level 1, 2 and 3 facilities, and conducting daily ward rounds in the psychiatry wards, including high-care or problem wards. You will also provide both inpatient and outpatient care, respond to consultations from other departments, and ensure meticulous discharge summaries are compiled for every patient. An important part of the role involves running psychiatric and sub-specialty clinics, as well as making appropriate up-referrals of well-worked-up patients to sub-specialties and down-referring stable patients to level 1 clinics for continued care. Beyond patient care, the position carries a significant teaching component: you will provide formal training to junior medical officers, psychiatry students and allied health workers, and offer mentorship to staff in psychiatric wards, clinics and referring facilities. Outreach to level 2 and 3 hospitals is also expected.

The Department of Health is committed to promoting representivity in the public service, and women and people with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply. Suitable candidates will be subject to personnel suitability checks, including criminal record, citizenship, credit record, qualification and employment verification, and may also undergo a skills or knowledge test. The recommended candidate may be required to undergo medical surveillance in line with the Occupational Health and Safety Act. It is important to note that no payments of any kind are required when applying, and the department reserves the right not to fill this post. Foreign qualifications must be evaluated by the South African Qualifications Authority, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. If you do not receive feedback within three months of the closing date, you should regard your application as unsuccessful. This post offers a rewarding career step for a dedicated medical professional seeking to deepen their expertise in psychiatry within an academic hospital setting.