Solomon Islanders Australia Awards fellows Dr Martin Keniriposia, Gordon Plant Neremana, RN, and Larissa Dickson Solomon, RN, with Debbie Schulz, Clinical Education & Training Manager – Medicine (draped in Solomon Islands flag) and Dr Ajai Verma, Director of Medical Services.
December 11, 2023
Solomon Islands: Strengthening outcomes through reciprocal relationships
Solomon Islands Australia Awards fellows from Honiara’s National Referral Hospital finish a six-week study/observation visit to the University Hospital Geelong (UHG), Barwon Health, in Victoria.
Dr Martin Keniriposia, Larissa Dickson Solomon, RN, and Gordon Plant Neremana, RN
Dr Martin Keniriposia and registered nurses Larissa Dickson Solomon and Gordon Plant Neremana saw first-hand the range of clinical and organisational capabilities found in a large metropolitan Australian hospital. During their time in the paediatric ward and Special Care Nursery at UHG, the visiting fellows practised clinical procedures in the UHG simulation laboratory and spent time with the Royal Children’s Hospital Paediatric Infant Perinatal Emergency Retrieval service.
“Similar services are currently not available in Solomon Islands”, said Michael Langley, AVI’s program manager for the Solomon Islands medical volunteering project.
“These Solomon Islands clinicians are in the van guard of a developing reciprocal relationships between Barwon Health and the National Referral Hospital in Honiara. These fellowships not only provide knowledge and experiences for Solomon Islanders but have the potential to create ongoing relationships that will lead to reciprocal visits and learnings across the two health facilities”.
Gordan Plant Neremana RN summarised the importance of person to person exchanges: “for myself I learned a lot from the staff, they were very helpful, very interactive. I’m taking away a lot of new information that I can use to help improve our overall clinical practice”.
Dr Martin Keniriposia, Larissa Dickson Solomon, RN, and Gordon Plant Neremana, RN
