Friday 19th September was one of those rare hospital days that felt less like work and more like a festival. Port Moresby General Hospital came alive as we celebrated World Patient Safety Day & Independence Roadshow.
The Pathology team began the day as usual with our morning meeting and on-call handover, then we quickly mapped out how we’d approach the day, before heading to the car park to set up. Hospital management had provided a pop-up canopy and folding table, which we dressed in PNG-coloured balloons and streamers, along with a few more tables we added from the laboratory. While formal speeches and traditional dancing unfolded on the HR lawn, the real heartbeat of the celebration, for me, was in the hospital car park near the 3-Mile bus stop.
The hospital gate leading to the car park was closed off for the day and the car park space was transformed into a lively health village. Each department from the hospital created its own burst of colour and activity; life-size dummies, flat-screen TVs, carefully crafted posters and hand-drawn diagrams. The Radiology department brought out its portable machines, Orthopedics had all their instruments and implants, Emergency Department had their life size dummies to demonstrate CPR. The amount of effort poured into every stall was a spectacle in itself.
Even though we spent most of the day at the car park, we could observe the speeches happening at the HR lawn via the big screen in the middle of the car park. PNG local music blasting from the speakers punctuated the scene as some stray traditional dancers from the main arena walked through the car park. A few of the staff even had some traditional bilas on, with some female staff from our team sporting grass skirts as they mingled with the invited guests and the visiting crowd.
At the Pathology stall the main attraction was the two microscopes we had set up front and center. Old and young were captivated. For the smallest visitors who couldn’t reach the microscopes to have a peek, we set up chairs for them to stand on. One microscope had slides for blood films which is a function of the hematology section while the other microscope had slides of the appendix which was histopathology and a function of the anatomical pathology section. After looking down the microscopes, visitors could relate what they saw to the pictures we had and ask questions.
Our BMLS (Bachelor of Medical Laboratory Science) residents were helping everywhere: from setting up and decorating the stall, to guiding visitors, to explaining what laboratory tests we had available. I particularly enjoyed shifting gears from moment to moment, tailoring my message for each visitor: from explaining to a child the function of a microscope, to explaining to a patient’s guardian the process to getting a test done at the lab, to discussing appendicitis histopathology with a surgeon, and even campaigning to medical students about the path to becoming a pathologist. If even one young person left considering a career in our field, it would make my heart happy.
Beyond Pathology, the car park buzzed with contributions from ICT department, Medical Records, Biomedical Engineering and Corporate Services. Visitors drifted in steadily throughout the day: colleagues from other departments with or without their kids, medical students, members of the public, patient guardians and plenty of curious kids.
In the early afternoon, senior management made their rounds through the car park, stopping briefly at each stall. When they reached ours, I greeted them and gave a quick overview of our work and the layout of the stall. Apart from touring the stalls the senior management also had a walk through of the hospital’s new cancer centre which was still under construction.
Soon after, I also did a walk through of the car park, stopping at each stall and engaging my colleagues from each department. After a short chat I asked them for a photograph; capturing memories of the day. Some departments even had frames prepared specifically for photo sessions! (See the photos below.)
Lunch was ready at 2 p.m so we took a quick break from the stall to eat. Even though the hospital management said to provide lunch, Pathology had organized our own lunch, with each section contributing a different type of dish.
Soon after we had lunch the car park slowly cleared as each department packed up their stalls. We did the same. By 4 p.m the car park was almost back to its old, plain appearance, but for a few hours it had become the most colourful, vibrant part of the hospital!
The official program was set to end at 5 p.m, so staff made their way to the HR lawn for the closing remarks. I could already hear the kundu drums beating loudly from there. A part of me felt sad as I walked away from the car park, but the thoughts of next year’s road show was already in my mind, feeling confident that next year’s event would be bigger and much better!
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