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View PDFFULL PUBLICATION: Samoa Medical Journal Volume 2 - Issue 1
A number of contributors continue to congratulate SMJ editors on the second issue of the country’s first medical journal. Published in time for Oceania University of Medicine’s first medical conference (23 & 24 April 2010) sponsored in partnership with the Samoa Medical Association, the National Health Service and the Ministry of Health, articles focus on the challenges faced by Samoa’s health care system following the October 2009 tsunami, as well as conditions and concerns suffered by many South Pacific residents – cardiovascular disease, smoking, and obesity. Medical education topics also held prominence through presentation of new teaching trends and announcement of Samoa’s new teaching hospital, with phase one construction beginning this year.
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View PDFEDITORIAL: MEDICAL CHALLENGES IN 2009 AND LESSONS TO BE LEARNT
Dr Ben Matalavea
2009 will go down in history as one of the most challenging years to Samoa’s health sector and its capacity to cope with disasters on a large scale . . .
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View PDFLETTER: DOCTORS AS TEAM PLAYERS
MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE SAMOA MEDICAL ASSOCIATION
Toleafoa Dr Viali Lameko
“ . . . response to the Novel H1N1 influenza pandemic of 2009 and the Tsunami disaster that devastated villages in the southeastern part of Upolu Island clearly illustrate the importance of the medical officers’ role not only as a team player, but very often they are called upon to be team leaders . . .”
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View PDFSPECIAL REPORT: OUM’S EMERGENCY RESPONSE TEAM ACTIVITIES FOLLOWING THE SAMOAN TSUNAMI
ON THE 29TH SEPTEMBER 2009
Gilsenan, B A, Patu, C, Smith, I B J
This report outlines the work carried out by the Oceania University of Medicine Emergency Response Team (OUMERT) in the days following the Samoan tsunami of 29 September 2009 . . .
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View PDFREVIEW: IMPACT OF CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES ON SAMOA
Lameko, V
This paper presents the impact of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) on Samoa’s health system. The discussion analyzes key challenges faced in trying to curb the burden of CVD and the impact on the system including human resources, service delivery, health financing and health policies.
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View PDFMISCELLANEOUS: SUMMARY OF POPULATION INDICATORS FOR SAMOA
Punivalu, M, Lameko, V, Cheema, S
A comprehensive chart of Samoa’s population indicators.
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View PDFRESEARCH: A MULTI-INTERVENTION PROGRAM TO REDUCE ANTIBIOTIC PRESCRIPTION FOR PATIENTS WITH UPPER RESPIRATORY TRACT INFECTION IN PRIMARY HEALTH CARE SETTINGS IN THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Alawadi, F, Brebner, J, Khalil, Z
Overuse of antibiotics in treating Upper Respiratory Tract Infections (URTIs) in Primary Health Care Clinics (PHCCs) is an area of great concern due to development of antimicrobial resistant pathogens and unnecessary expenses to health care systems and patients . . .
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View PDFPERSONAL PERSPECTIVE: MY EXPERIENCES IN AFRICA
Du Toit, P
I have recently returned from two months in South Africa where I did some of my clinical rotations as part of my OUM medical degree. My first stop was a surgical rotation at a teaching hospital in the Cape Province . . .
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View PDFOPINION: TOBACCO SMOKING AND CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES
Lameko, V
A presentation of tobacco smoking in Samoa – the dangers, improvement following cessation, the tobacco industry itself, and the Ministry of Health’s Tobacco Control Act.
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View PDFLITERATURE UPDATE: HINARI COLUMN
Cheema, S
In this regular column, recent papers in PubMed’s databases (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed) relevant to medical health in Samoa and the South Pacific will be listed. For those in Samoa the full text of these articles will likely be available at the OUM Medical Library through its subscription to HINARI.
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View PDFEDUCATION AND TRAINING: CURRENT TRENDS IN UNDERGRADUATE MEDICAL EDUCATION: Program and Curriculum design
McKimm, J
This is the first of two articles for the Samoa Medicine Journal on undergraduate medical education. This article looks at current international trends in program design, curriculum structure, and student selection, exploring their relevance to the South Pacific. The second article (Volume 2 Issue 2) will focus on teaching, learning, and assessment methods.
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View PDFCONFERENCE REPORT: ASIA PACIFIC MEDICAL EDUCATION CONFERENCE
SINGAPORE, 4-8 FEBRUARY 2010
Held, S, McKimm, J, Cheema, S
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View PDFOPINION: SAMOA’S FIRST TEACHING HOSPITAL
Cheema, S
Without doubt, hospitals where medical students and young doctors receive basic and specialist training are generally thought of as the most advanced type of hospital. The new teaching hospital in Samoa will, when fully operational, have not only the best doctors, but the best medical and surgical facilities in the South Pacific.
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View PDFOBITUARY: DR FALENIU ASAUA
Brought up on the one square kilometer of Apolima Island, the odds were against a young boy full of hopes and dreams whose father’s sudden death rendered his family penniless. But later, as an Agricultural Department clerk, a boss recommended him for a scholarship to study medicine at the Fiji School of Medicine. Dr Faleniu Asaua became the first Samoan born and bred consultant pathologist, heading the Samoa National Health, Central Laboratory and Pathological Department for more than two decades before his death in 2006.