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Cancer Awareness Visit to Jack’s of PNG
October is the month dedicated to breast cancer awareness. Earlier this month, I had the privilege of joining one of my colleagues and one of my bosses to visit Jack’s of PNG warehouse at Hohola, Port Moresby, for a cancer awareness program organized by the PNG Cancer Foundation. The Foundation regularly coordinates visits by doctors…
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A Friday for a Pathology Registrar
Friday morning. It was 9 a.m. when I left the office. The morning meeting had been a long one, the previous night’s on-call shift summary was presented then other issues discussed. Afterwards, I spent a few minutes discussing a case with my colleague; we had a pediatric patient booked for a bone marrow aspiration in…
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Burn out
It was finally the end of the month, and we had got through without any major issues. I was completing clinic duties when I received a call to attend to an emergency case in the Emergency Department (ED). I rushed over, where both the Emergency and Anaesthetic teams were stabilising the patient—a trauma case requiring…
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Pathology as a Career in Papua New Guinea
Introduction Pathology is the study of disease. Pathology is important because in order to treat a disease we need to identify, confirm the disease and understand how the disease works. Pathology is the bridge between science and medicine. If you’ve ever been to hospital and had to get a blood test, that is a pathology…
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Nurse‑to‑patient ratios
The current nurse-to-patient ratio in my ward in Alotau Provincial Hospital which is a 32-bed surgical ward with only 16 nursing/CHW staff is roughly 1:8-10.5 for every 8-hour shift (3-4 staff/shift) if the ward is full. Night shifts can be as low as 2 staff on duty (1:16). This is not safe or practical as…
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Poems of a PNG health worker
Introduction There are many acts of compassion and connection that can explore the intricacies of kindness, respect and trust. However, we do not talk enough on the challenges faced by health workers in poverty and crime stricken areas of the world. Like patients, doctors, nurses and health givers in general need compassion and connection. This…
