Medicine with Heart

Please call me “Doctor Monica” — “Dr. Beghin” (beg-in) tends to get people tongue-tied.

I grew up in Pietermaritzburg and left home at eighteen to pursue a career in Medicine at the University of the Witwatersrand. After graduating in Johannesburg, I returned home to complete my internship in the Pietermaritzburg Hospital Complex and was fortunate to be placed closer to home at Richmond Hospital for my community service.

It was during these early years of working within our local communities that I began to understand that being a doctor is about more than diagnosing and treating medical conditions. Some of my biggest learning experiences came from discovering how to become a doctor within a community, and how to touch lives in a meaningful way.

Since then, I have worked across a range of inpatient and outpatient settings, gaining well-rounded experience in many medical conditions, alongside developing a special interest in ultrasound and obstetric scanning.

Returning to Pietermaritzburg has made the idea of community particularly meaningful to me. My aim is to build lasting relationships within the Hayfields community and create an environment where people feel heard, cared for and comfortable placing their health in my hands.

For me, this is what Medicine with Heart means: taking the time to listen, getting to know the person behind the symptoms, and being there for patients and their families through the different stages of life.