Dean for Samoa and Asia-Pacific, at the Oceania University of Medicine, Associate Professor Toleafoa Dr. Viali Lameko says, “Creating good doctors begins in medical school.”
Dr. Lameko wrote, in a recent research paper, that Samoa became another provider of medical doctors for Samoa and the world, when the Oceania University of Medicine (OUM) was established in Samoa in 2002, under an Act of Parliament of Samoa.
Eleven years later, in 2013, a new School of Medicine was established under the National University of Samoa (NUS).
To date, seven Samoans have graduated from OUM with another three in May this year to make it 10 graduates.
Another 13 Samoan citizens are currently studying medicine at the university, under the OUM full-tuition scholarships.
Dr. Lameko explained that about 30 Samoans have graduated from the NUS school of medicine, which accepted medical students from the Solomon Islands about 5 years ago.
Two students from American Samoa, Ioane Tomanogi and Florence Wasko, are in their third year of medical studies at OUM on scholarship. They are presently doing their clinical rotations at LBJ Hospital.
“Very often, you hear of patients and their families complaining about the attitude and behavior of medical doctors during an encounter, either at the hospital setting or at a private clinic.”
In the past, he said, the MOH CEO or Minister gets to defend doctors through the media.
“But this has changed already over the years, as more clinical auditing meetings are being held between the health officers, and open discussions occurred between the patient and the doctor,” he said.
The Dean observed that the tide has changed and continues to change in how the medical schools select the candidates to enter the training program. Nowadays, the emphasis on ‘People management skills’ and cultural competency are major criteria.
