Colleges of Medicine of South Africa


The Colleges of Medicine of South Africa is the custodian of the quality of medical care in South Africa. It is unique in the world in that its 27 constituent Colleges represent all the disciplines of medicine and dentistry. One route to specialisation in South Africa, is via a Fellowship conferred by the College. See Medical education in South Africa; Dental degree: South Africa.

History

CMSA was founded and financed in 1954 by members of the medical profession, and was registered as a non-profit making company in 1955. It has facilities in Cape Town and Johannesburg, including lecture venues and committee and reception rooms, and an office in Durban.

Fellowships

The specialist qualifications obtained through The CMSA are known as Fellowships, a designation similar to that used in various countries. These are recognised by the Health Professions Council of South Africa as acceptable for specialist registration and are known throughout the world. A qualification was designed especially for family practitioners and is called Membership of the College of Family Practitioners. This is registerable as an additional qualification.
For those medical and dental practitioners who do not wish to specialise, the CMSA offers Higher Diploma and Diploma qualifications which are registered by the HPCSA as additional qualifications. There is also an additional qualification for those who obtain a Certificate in one of the subspecialities.

Colleges of the CMSA