IN PURSUIT OF
PERFECTION
Pindara Magazine 15
e met Jacobus (Jorrie) and Nova
Jordaan in their rooms at the
Surgical Weightloss Centre at
Pindara Place – an impressive set-up, and
testament to their success in helping their patients
achieve their health and weight-loss goals.
In talking to husband and wife team, Jorrie and
Nova, there was one theme that was a constant
throughout, an ideal that is strong within them
both – the perpetual pursuit of perfection.
It’s not the pursuit of a superficial or
unreasonable perfection, not at all, more an
inherent desire and intense drive to simply,
always do their very best – for their patients,
their profession, as parents and as people.
Being from different backgrounds (Jorrie
originally from South Africa and Nova a Gold
Coaster by way of the USA) was no barrier for
Jorrie and Nova, it was the mutual inclination
for perfection in practice that initially drew
them together.
They first met in a Pindara surgical theatre,
Nova recounts being slightly intimidated by
Jorrie when she would assist him in theatre – he
was very focused, had high standards and was
meticulous in his method.
Jorrie was intrigued by Nova’s dedication to
improvement – her penchant for writing thorough
notes after each surgery so that she could
consider and recount what worked and what
didn’t for the next time.
Despite a shared passion for surgery neither of
them had initially envisioned a career in medicine.
Jorrie thought he would pursue a career in
engineering, but a suggestion from his parents,
born from Jorrie’s love of animals, sent him in a
new direction.
“When I was growing up in South Africa, I
had many pets and even had my own little safe
haven for sick and injured animals. I had all
sorts – birds, lizards, even tortoises and I would
nurse them back to health – so at my parent’s
suggestion, I followed that passion,” Jorrie said.
Nova thought medicine was ‘disgusting’ and
hadn’t intended following the path many of her
family members had pursued before her. After
high school, she decided to study psychology
and biochemistry, but was unconvinced about
this career path and decided to travel instead –
becoming a flight attendant.
It was only after September 11 that Nova decided
to return to study and this time found medicine
was what really spoke to her.
An incident with Jorrie’s father, where he had
to undergo an emergency laparotomy, had a big
impact on Jorrie’s choice of specialisation, with
him eventually choosing Upper Gastrointestinal.
His move into bariatrics – a surgical speciality
that assists patients with weightloss – was a
natural progression after Jorrie noticed the
immense impact it made on his patients.
“It was something I started to do as part of the
Upper GI service. I was quite surprised initially
by the impact it had on patients. They did so well
and were so happy that I decided to take on more
cases and develop this area more and more,”
Jorrie said.
Finding a partner in Nova, who shared a strong
interest in the area also, enabled them to build
an impressive practice uniquely able to service
the immediate and ongoing health needs of
bariatric patients.
“What I like most about bariatrics is the ability
to develop an ongoing relationship with your
patient as their health improves. You get to see
their lives change for the better, so it’s very
motivating and uplifting to be able to say ‘I made
a difference to that person’,” Nova said.
For both Jorrie and Nova, it is clear medicine is
much more than a job – it is a passion, a pastime
and a fascination. Developing obesity medicine
and bariatrics in Australia, as well as having it
recognised as a discipline of medicine is one of
their main goals.
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