CMNHS Newsletter FEB2011(2).pdf - Pacific Health Voices

Quarterly
College of Medicine, Nursing & Health Sciences
Made possible through AusAID’s assistance to support implementation of the Fiji School of Medicine’s 2008-2012 Strategic Plan.
Volume 1 No.1
28 February,
2011
in this issue
Welc me
from the Dean
Welcome from
the Dean
New Dental Prosthetics Lab
Good Governance
Trainee Interns for Kadavu
Meeting of Mental Health
Experts
Presentation by Dr. Lynn
Weekes on Improving use of
Medicines in Australia
WWW
Staff Movements
News in Brief
NewDentalProstheticsLab
The new refurbished and extended Dental Training Laboratory facilities opened its doors
on March 2nd, this new Lab is the result of collaboration between the Ministry of Health
and the College of Medicine, Nursing & Health Sciences, with partial supported by
AusAid. Dean Professor Ian Rouse approved the extension and renovations to facilitate a
learning environment necessary for students training in the Dental technology field. The
new laboratory facilities can now accommodate 24 students at a time compared to only
14 before.
The CMNHS is grateful to the support and facilitation by the National Advisor Oral
Health - Dr Joan Lal and Dr. Iferemi Waqainabete, Medical Superintendent CWM
Hospital in allowing the old dental stores space to be utilised for this extension.The
added space allows many procedures to be conducted in the lab, accomodating more
students and tutors and dental technicians and allowing for a faster turnover of dental
appliances fabricated in the lab.
The dental laboratory processes dental applicances such as removal and fixed dentures,
orthodontic appliances and mouth guards. The installation of new equipment such as
trimming units, crown and bridge casting machine, and soon to be fitted chrome
-cobalt unit, will make this a fully fitted laboratory that can fabricate a wide range
of dental applicances. This will reduce time spent sending prescriptions abroad for
fabrication and also overall costs of appliances for patients and the laboratory.
Most of the trained dental technicians in Fiji are employed by the Ministry of
Health. With the opening of the new dental laboratory facility by the CMNHS, it
is hoped that more technicians can be trained in areas of fixed prosthodontics and
metal denture fabrication to meet the need for this support in providing dental care
in Fiji.
page 1

GoodGovernance
As part of an ongoing process for 2011 of updating
and informing staff about key issues in the workplace
and the health sector, staff have had access to a
series of workshops on Good Governance that have
been facilitated by Ms Nazhat Shameem and Ms Ana
Tuiketei.
Ms Shameem ( a Former High Court Judge) recently
conducted an excellent 2-day workshop for senior
staff in the University. It was positive, engaging and
very informative. If only to have someone with Ms
Shameem’s understanding to help interpret the new
decrees that will have a significant impact on all of us.
Nearly all staff in the College will now have had an
opportunity to participate, learn, share ideas and help
plan what we may introduce for our students who will,
when they graduate, have to deal with many issues in
the workplace and in dealing with patients. All staff
were encouraged to attend one of four workshops. These
will be followed up by key changes in the governance
of the College and a series of workshops for final year
students in the College.
Dean with students at the cake cutting, at the Student Association
Orientation for First Years.
program, is a 20 week Clinical attachment in
semester I and a 18 week Public Health attachment
in semester II.
‘Students are posted to selected local sub-divisional
and regional health centres or hospitals in Fiji,
Tonga, Samoa and the Solomon Islands. These
internships are made possible through existing
FSMed Memorandum of Understanding [MOU’s]
with the Fiji, Tonga, Samoa and Solomon Island
Ministry of Health / Governments.’ said Trainee
Intern [TI] Coordinator Dr. Timaima Tuiketei.
FSMed has 64 MBBS year 6 students who will be
serving their training internship in Fiji and the region.
The injection of new doctors into the work force will
no doubt assist the projected health objectives of the
Fiji Ministry of Health.
TraineeInternsforKadavu
As FSMed moves out across Fiji to provide the best and most
diverse training for our doctors, for the first time this year,
MBBS year 6 students will serve out their training internship
at the Vunisea Hospital in Kadavu.
Part of the final year curriculum requirements for the Bachelor
of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery [MBBS] undergraduate
As the first Trainee Interns to Kadavu, Avelina
Rokoduru and Joseph Tigarea will lay the foundation
for interns in the coming years as they left for Kadavu
on February 14th for their 18 week attachment.
‘We’re excited to be going, they said and hope we
can serve the community well while we’re there’.
Kadavu is located South of Viti Levu and is a maritime
subdivision that has one main hospital [Vunisea] and 2 health
centres [Kavala and Taviqela]. Vunisea hospital qualifies as
a teaching hospital for trainee interns as it has a good case
load / case mix of both clinical and public health issues.
FSMed hopes to expand its Trainee Intern attachment
locations each year with plans on the way to move into
Lakeba and Tavenuni next year, this internship has resulted
page 2

MeetingofMentalHealth
Experts
by Dr. Myrielle Allen
With a unified objective to improve the quality,
accessibility and affordability of mental health
services and training of human resources in Fiji
and other countries in the Pacific, a meeting of
mental health experts from Fiji, Australia, India,
Malaysia and Taiwan took place in Suva on the
15th to the 18th of February 2011. This was
made possible through the strong leadership and
commitment by the Minister of Health, the Dean
of the College of Medicine, Nursing and Health
Sciences, through the support of the AusAid
Strategic Fund.
WIN
an i-pod nano
To address the challenges and work towards achieving a
mentally healthy, productive and prosperous nation, the
experts have concluded and recommended the following:
• Supports the Ministry of Health’s paradigm shift in
the delivery of mental health services from being
centrally-based at psychiatric hospitals to decentralized
comprehensive community-based mental health service
integrated into the general and public health systems.
• That St. Giles Hospital be further developed into
a premier clinical, training and research centre of
excellence.
• The MH Decree 2010 supports the aforementioned
conclusions and resolutions and recommends a review
of the Decree in the maximum 5 year period.
• Development of quality postgraduate programs at the
Diploma and Masters level in psychiatry that will be
relevant to the region.
• Conduct short term courses in mental health and mental
health advocacy for health care workers and relevant
stakeholders in the private and public sectors.
FOR ALL
STUDENTS.
Entry Details on
Page 6

Weekeson
Improving
Useof
Medicinesin
Australia
Presentation By Dr. Kamal Kishore
During her visit to Fiji, Dr. Lynn Weekes accepted
the invitation to deliver a public lecture for medical
and health care fraternity on improving use of
medicine in the country. Dr Weeks is the inaugural
Chief Executive Officer of the National Prescribing
Service, Australia. Currently in her role at NPS she
works with a talented team of people to support
the best use of medicines and medical tests – both
by health professionals and within the community.
She and her colleagues at NPS have implemented
a wide range of behavioural interventions that
have been shown to influence the prescription and
use of medicines. She has a strong professional
interest in quality assurance, behaviour change
and pharmaco-epidemiology.
Lynn believes her pharmacy training has provided an
excellent base for achievement of public health changes as
they relate to medicines. Her presentation revolved around
the issues of awareness both among the health professionals
as well as general public on rational use of medicine through
informed choice of drugs.
She was originally trained as a pharmacist at Sydney
University and went on to practice in community, hospital,
policy and research settings. She worked at St Vincent’s
Hospital in Sydney before taking up the position of Executive
Officer at NSW Therapeutic Assessment Group. Lynn has a
MSc in pharmaceutics and a PhD in community medicine.
This session was well presented by members of various
professional bodies, like Fiji Medical Association, Fiji
College of General Practitioners, Fiji Pharmaceutical Society,
as well as faculty and students of Fiji School of medical,
along with staff of the Colonial War Memorial Hospital and
other ministry of health establishments. Presence of esteemed
clinical pharmacologist and former dean of the FSMed Prof
Rob Moulds provided additional pleasure of an interesting
and enlightening discussion following this presentation.
This session served as inaugural event for what appears to be
an exciting and eventful year in FSMed’s efforts to provide
quality and continuous professional educational sessions for
Fiji’s healthcare fraternity. It is also in line with making use
of visiting international presenters during their visit to the
country. AusAid support to enable FSMed for hosting this
session is well appreciated.
page 4
Dr. Lynn Weekes at the public Lecture. Monday 19th January at
Tanoa Plaza Hotel.

StudentAssociation
WWW by Peter Sipeli
It was a hectic month of welcomes for first year
students at the Fiji School of Medicine. The final
orientation ‘welcome’ was organized by the Fiji
School of Medicine, Student Association. This
event was called the ‘WWW’ – meaning What,
Where and Why? Which were the key questions
new students ask themselves when coming into
FSM– what as in what is the Student Association
(SA) about and what are the other social/ethnic
groups are about and what do they do in relation
to student life and learning, where as in where can
SA and other groups are located and why as in
why is it important to belong to these groups.
The day was a half of activities run by the SA – first each
student representing a different island countries from the
student body to be seated up front with alongside the Dean
to be able to acknowledge and honor the diversity of cultures
of the school. The formalities began with a speech from the
Sale Tamata Olivier Vurobaravu, who told students there was
a diversity of cultures to learn from while being at FSM, he
also introduced to the first the office bearers of the Student
Association. The Dean’s speech urged students to ensure
that their studies be kept a priority and to look forward to a
year of excellence as FSM has this year engaged a cadre of
professionals in the different departments and students were
going to learn from the best the world had to offer.
The first years were greeted to performances by the Samoans,
Indian Social and the Indian Religious groups, the Tongans,
The Fijian, Vanuatuan and the PNG ethnic associations – all
performances were energetic and fun and found most of the
students engaging in the performances.
First years were served lunch at the end of the program and
the Student Association, with the various ethnic groups set up
tables and to talk to interested students about their groups.
Students checking name list in the newspaper
For someone from the outside like myself, I found the
morning entertaining and just really fun – all the first years
understood that becoming a health professional is serious
business, but also in the vein of learning that they also can
embrace new cultures and learn from their classmates and
make new friends. As a new comer to the FSM staff, I have
found that the friends these first years make, will last a
lifetime and these links will forever map the influence of the
school on these young peoples minds.
page 5

StaffMovements
Dr. Silina Fusimalohi has recently joined the Fiji School of Medicine as the newest Project Manager. She
will be working closely with Dr. Berlin Kafoa and the rest of the Projects team.
Dr Silina Fusimalohi, former student of FSM. Graduated in 1992 with a MBBS and attained her Masters
from UNSW.
Silina practiced clinical work in paediatrics at Vaiola hospital, Tonga from 1993-2000. She then took a
break from hospital services and managed a general practice until 2007 when she returned to join public
health in Tonga’s Ministry of Health.
Silina worked for an NGO- (Tonga Family Health Association) in 2008-2010 in the area of sexual
reproductive health and left Tonga to take up this new post of Projects Manager at FSMed funded by
AusAid Strategic Fund.
Dr. Revite Kirition recently joined the Fiji School of Medicine project team as the Health Service Planner
for the AUSAID-funded Specialized Clinical Services Project. This regional project is tasked with
strengthening specialized clinical services in the Pacific and its office is housed at the PCP classroom.
Mr. Kirition comes from the Republic of Kiribati and has worked one of the project managers for the
European Union-funded Health Improvement Project for the outer islands of Kiribati, for which the Fiji
School of Medicine was the implementing agency. More recently he has been the Director of Public
Health in Kiribati.
Dr. Ravite graduated in 1999 with MBBS training, and has attained his Masters in in Public Health
from Auckland University and is currently pursing a Masters in Applied Management (Health). He has
brought along his wife Akoia and three sons.
Mr. Kavekini Neidiri has recently rejoined the Fiji School of Nursing as a Lecturer 1 and Manager of Year
One’s.
Mr. Neidiri began with FNU on the 7th of this month. He brings with him over 20 years experience in
the Nursing Profession.
Kavekini is rejoining FSN from the Sangam Institute of Technology’s School of Nursing in Labasa, where
he worked as a nurse educator, manager, and administrator.
Mr. Neidiri is proud to have had clinical practice in various parts of Fiji including Lau group, CWMH,
Lautoka Hospital, Lautoka/Yasawa subdivision, Lomaiviti subdivision. He has also worked for 4 years in
the Republic of the Marshall Islands.
Mrs. Sulueti Nonoi Dakuwaqa Duvaga joins us at Fiji School of Nursing as the a Lecturer in Primary
Health Care.
Mrs. Duvaga is a Fiji Registered Nurse and a Fiji Registered Midwife for 30yrs and has worked in
various Hospitals and Health Centers such as Lautoka Hospital, Nasau Health Centre in Ra, Lautoka
Health Office, Ba Health Centre, Suva Health Office.
She has worked previously for the Family Planning Association of Fiji in 1996 – 1998 as a the Clinical
Coordinator. She has also worked as the National Coordinator for Adolescent Health Development
for the Ministry of Health in 2003 – 10th February 2011. On top of all this Sulueti has been heavily
involved in the area of Reproductive and Sexual Health before joining the Fiji College of Medicine, Nursing and Health
Science.
Minshym Chan Wong is from New Zealand, and has recently joined the Fiji School of Medicine in the
Department of Oral Health, lecturing in Dental Technology and based at Hoodless House.
As a graduate of Bachelor Dental Technology, University of Otago, Dunedin and former staff of the Otago
Dental School, Minshym looks forward to living & working in Fiji and being part of an exciting era of
FSMed Dental Technology.
Minshym looks forward to meeting all the friendly faces at CMNHS in this coming semester and beyond.
Groove Into The New School Year With An I-Pod Nano, It’s Easy…
The Dean will provide gifts in the following categories.
Best entry from a first year student at FSN Best entry from a first year student at FSMed
Best entry from a continuing student at FSN Best entry from a continuing student at FSMed
First year challenge. The best personal statement in no more than 50 words on the topic … why I am
excited about coming to study in the College of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences at Fiji National
University?
page 6
Continuing students. The best personal statement in no more than 50 words on the topic … what has
been the best aspect for you of becoming part of the Fiji National University?
How to enter :
Submit your entry via your FNU student email to peter.sipeli@fnu.ac.fj.
Entries close
31 March
2011.

NewsinBrief
The annual Fiji Village Project heralded in the new student
year with over 80 medical volunteers from Australia, New
Zealand and Fiji. This year the students worked together
with sponsors to provide clean drinking water to 2 villages
in Tailevu - Delaidamanu and Natoaika.
The project ran for 2 weeks and finished with a farewell for
the volunteers at the end of January.
Nearly 500 students join the Fiji School of Medicine and
Fiji School of Nursing this year. That is a record high for
the institutions. According to Professor Rouse the record
offers for 2011 reflects a very strong partnership between
the Fiji School of Medicine / Fiji School of Nursing, the Fiji
Ministry of Health and regional governments.
Dean with Village Elders at opening Launch of
Dam at Delaidamanu - Fiji Village Project.
Exciting new courses have been included in the 2011
CMNHS curriculum like the Bachelor in Public Health
Nursing. This program offers the best opportunity for
continuing professional development to nurses in Fiji and
the Pacific Region.
For more information contact Sis Iloi Rabuka
T : 3233284 E : iloi.rabuka@fnu.ac.fj
For the first time scholarship opportunities exist for the
Bachelor in Nutrition and Dietetics program. This is a new
program that addresses important health issues like lifestyle
diseases, food security, Health promotion and community
education.
NCDs are a result of poor eating habits and nutrition intake
for the people in the Pacific has changed drastically over the
past years because of the influences of modernization.
We need a highly skilled workforce to be part of the
solution.
Lab Students.
FSM students perform at the closing of
the Fiji Village Project celebrations.