UKZN Professor Advances National Medical Education
Professor Mergan Naidoo was recently appointed to the Medical Education, Training and Registration Committee of the Health Professions Council of South Africa.
Naidoo, a full professor of Family Medicine at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), also serves as Head of the Clinical Unit at Wentworth Hospital, where he has played a central role in strengthening clinical governance and district-level health services.
An avid cyclist, Naidoo is a clinician, educator, and researcher and is nationally and internationally recognised for his contributions to postgraduate medical education, health systems strengthening, and the advancement of family medicine in South Africa. His academic qualifications include an MBChB, a master’s degree in Family Medicine, a Master of Science in Sports Medicine, a Fellowship in the College of Family Physicians (FCFP), multiple clinical diplomas, a PhD in Maternal Health, a FAIMER Fellowship, and a Master’s degree in Health Professions Education (Accreditation and Assessment) from Keele University.
Naidoo holds several senior leadership positions within the profession. He currently serves as Vice President of the Colleges of Medicine of South Africa (2025–2028), President of the College of Family Physicians (2023–2026), and President of the South African Medical Association (2025–2026). He also serves as treasurer and an executive committee member of the South African Academy of Family Physicians. In addition, he is a faculty member of the International and East African FAIMER Institutes and serves as an Academic Editor for PLOS One. These organisations build capacity among academics globally in health professions education through their fellowship programmes.
Central to Naidoo’s research portfolio is a national project titled ‘Evaluation of Family Medicine Entrustable Professional Activities in Postgraduate Training Programmes in South Africa’. The project focuses on strengthening competency-based postgraduate training through a nationally agreed set of Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs), supported by a shared electronic Portfolio of Learning (ePoL) platform, SCORION. The initiative aims to promote transformation, standardisation and quality assurance in family medicine training nationwide.
Jointly funded through the University Capacity Development Programme Collaborative Projects Grant (2024–2025) and the Discovery Foundation, the study is being conducted at institutions offering postgraduate family medicine training in South Africa including: Walter Sisulu University, the University of Cape Town, Stellenbosch University, the University of the Free State, the University of the Witwatersrand, the University of Pretoria, Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University and the University of Limpopo.
A National Research Foundation (NRF) C2-rated researcher, Naidoo has supervised numerous Master’s and PhD candidates and authored more than 100 peer-reviewed publications spanning maternal health, infectious diseases, non-communicable diseases, emergency care, health systems strengthening, and health professions education.
Through his combined academic, research, and clinical leadership, Naidoo continues to play a significant role in shaping national medical education policy, advancing family medicine training, and strengthening the South African district health system.
Words: MaryAnn Francis
Photograph: Supplied
