ACOMPLISHMENT REPORT--DR. SIWI S WAWE 2013
ACOMPLISHMENT REPORT
OVERSEAS HEALTHCARE PERSONEL TRAINING PROGRAM
DR. SIWI S WAWE (SURGEON) – PAPUA NEW GUNIEA (2013/07/01-07/31)
If one time I am in position in my country to contribute ideas towards improving our healthcare delivery then my experience in CCH， Taiwan will be helpful.
I spent good number of hours in the operating theatre and observed some very advance and interesting operations. I was very impressed to observe the operating room team were so organised that the flow of operations were uninterrupted. By this I mean the nurses， anaesthetist， technician， surgeons and the rest they knew exactly what they were doing. The surgeons were too good that they made what I thought complicated operations were done fast and efficiently. The operations such as spinal fusions， hip and knee replacements and arthroscopic knee reconstruction were done in short time with ease.
I attended some OPD Clinics as rostered. The problem was all the patients spoke in Chines that I had no chance at all to hear anything. However， that I did not stop me， I kept going to clinics as rostered because I knew I will lean new things each time I attended. The surgeons were very knowledgeable， skilful and very humble and found time in teaching me. I learnt so much from them; they were a great bunch of surgeons I never came across in my short career.
Mentors/Colleagues
All the surgeons that I met during their operating sessions and clinics were all fantastic. I could not find a word to describe them but they were great that they respected me and taught me a lot. I was humbled by their approach to me. They got a lot to impart on young surgeons like myself. The English language may be a problem but that’s not impossible to overcome as most senior surgeons speak good English. The Resident Dr. Bruce was great; he could speak very good English. Sometimes when his boss found it hard to explain me something he would takeover from him. I had a wonderful time among the surgeons and the residents; there was no one time I was made felt out off place either in the operating room or at the OPD Clinic. Even the nurses from the theatre and clinic were helpful. They would remind me when is lunch， and where to find my free daily lunch in the theatre， was great.
SKILLS LEARNT AT CCH
The surgical skills here are far advance together with the advance in surgical instruments and the Medical Technologies. The procedures such as joint replacements， spinal fusion， arthroscopic surgeries are not yet done in my country. However， the knowledge I gained has broadened my understanding in orthopaedics. There were some skills I leant at the OPD Clinic like intra-articular injections of Hyaluronic Acid sodium Salt for osteoarthritis I can try and implement it at my clinic. If one time I am in position in my country to contribute ideas towards improving our healthcare delivery then my experience in CCH， Taiwan will be helpful.
SUGGESTION/COMMENTS ON THIS PROGRAM
I knew very little about Taiwan before I came here. This program had helped me to see that Taiwan provides best surgical (orthopaedic) care to its people. The facilities， and the skills and the knowledge demonstrated by the caregivers (Orthopaedics team) are fare greater than I initially thought. Taiwan is a potential future venue for countries like Papua New Guinea can benefit from in terms of manpower training and even donations of used surgical instruments and medical technologies such as C arm (image intensifier) or CT scans. I suggest that this program should continue in all cadres of health personnel.