From Volunteer to Nurse: Sesanda’s Journey to Permanent Work
When Sesanda first walked through the doors of Tintswalo Hospital as a volunteer, she was one of many qualified but unemployed nursing assistants in South Africa's rural northeast.
She had the training but no job. Then Tshemba called.
A Pathway That Leads Somewhere
The programme offers structured four-month volunteer placements for local nursing assistants at Tintswalo Hospital. And it leads to real work, not just a certificate.
Communicators receive formal training, mentorship, and hands-on experience across departments from outpatient consultations to diabetes clinics, school outreach, and community health education.
They learn to navigate the complex space between clinical medicine and community understanding. They explain diagnoses in Shangaan or Sotho, counsel fearful patients, and support volunteer doctors who are new to the hospital and its systems.
The work is demanding, and most of what they learn comes from being in the room with a patient holding space for them, not from a textbook.
Growing Into the Role
Sesanda started by helping patients and their families understand their treatment plans. Over time, she developed the communication and patient engagement skills that caught the attention of a local research team. She moved into a fieldwork role — and three other Medical Communicators followed her into the same programme.
Sesanda was later offered a permanent position as an Enrolled Nursing Assistant at Tintswalo Hospital.
Her story isn't unusual. The programme picks volunteers who want to be here — and turns them into nurses hospitals actually want to hire. Their experience with Tshemba gives them practical patient skills and professional confidence that are difficult to acquire in the current economy.
Strengthening the System From Within
In a region where qualified nurses often struggle to find employment, this matters. When a Medical Communicator gets hired permanently, the hospital gains someone who already knows the patients, the language, and the community.
When they move into permanent roles, they carry that understanding with them into every consultation, ward round, or patient interaction.
What It Adds Up To
Four months as a volunteer. A research role. A permanent position at Tintswalo. That's what the programme produces when it picks the right people and supports their journey.
As Sesanda's journey shows, supporting others and being supported aren't separate things. They're the same thing.
That's the Tshemba way.