Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. By Pamenus Tuso – A 35-year-old physiotherapist, Precious Madzimbe has written a book on pediaphysio therapy, becoming the first black Zimbabwean after independence to author such a specialised medical volume.
Madzimbe, who is a specialist in paediatric physiotherapy, said he decided to pen the book after realising there were no local authors who have written on the subject.
He said the lack of local medical solutions in his field, had resulted in medical training institutions relying on foreign books which were far divorced from the African context.
“I specialised in paediatric physiotherapy at the University of Cape Town in South Africa. Then after completing my studies that is when I realised that back home there is no local book that is written locally to address our needs especially in the profession of paediatric physiotherapy,” he told NewZimbabwe.com this week.
“So, I decided to write this book titled ‘Paediatric Physiotherapy: Patient Assessment in the African Context’, which is contextualised into our setting to meet our local needs.”
The physiotherapist said the book will assist both students and qualified physiotherapists interested in the management of children’s health needs.
“Most books are difficult for students to read and understand because the examples used in these books are foreign. There are no local examples being used. They are also very expensive because you have to import the books from America and the United Kingdom,” Madzimbe added.
His book is now being sold locally as well as on Amazon in both soft and hard copies.
A soft book is selling for US$19 while a hard copy is going for US$35.
Madzimbe said he started penning the book in 2018.
“Writing a medical book is difficult than writing a novel because it has to be reviewed. I had to look for external reviewers to review the book so that it can be acceptable to the readers. In Bulawayo, I am the only paediatric physiotherapist, so I had to source external reviewers.
“Fortunately, I managed to contact a professor in paediatrics at the University of Cape Town who came in to do a thorough review of the book,” he said.
The book was also reviewed by a Ghanaian physiotherapist.
Madzimbe said he incorporated all the two external examiners’ recommendations in the book.
The physiotherapist appealed to fellow young professionals in the medical field to be innovative in whatever they were doing.
“I encourage young persons like myself to be innovative, identify the gaps in any subject that they are interested in. You might be a medical doctor, a pharmacist, or physiotherapist, or whatever medical professional that you are in, identify the literature gap in your subject area and then try to write in your own local context so that the information can easily get to people.
“People can easily relate with the examples given to their day-to-day experiences so that we do not rely on imported books for simple things that we can generate locally,” he said.
Madzimbe works at the United Bulawayo Hospital (UBH). He also runs a private orthopaedic surgery in the city.
“Most paediatric physiotherapists have left the country for greener pastures. Paediatric physiotherapists are the most sought-after professionals the world over, but the reason why I have not left the country is that I have a passion for our children.
“Usually, children are medically mismanaged because they have unique needs which are different from the adults.”
