Practitioners

Training Islanders As Medical

Probably Three Schools in the Pacific

A NE W plan for training Pacific Islanders as native medical practitioners appears to he taking shape, since the United States estab lished a training school in Guam, to serve American Territories in the North Pacific.

The plan is that there shall he three main native medical training institutions in the Pacific, as follows: ■ Suva Medical School (British), serving the Polynesian Territories of the South Pacific. ■ Guam Medical School (Ameri can) , serving North Pacific Terri tories. ■ A South-west Pacific School (probably Australian) , serving all the Melanesian Territories of the South Pacific (Papua, New Guinea, Solo mons, New Hebrides, etc.).

In the following article, a Special Correspondent comments on the plan .

THE United States Navy has lost no time in opening the new Medical Practitioners’ School at the Naval Medical Centre on Guam Island.

In January, 1946, this medical school was commenced with two classes of native students. The senior class con sisted on 11 students, six of whom were American Samoans, who had already re ceived one year’s instruction at the Central Medical School in Fiji.

In addition, four Guamite students were found to have a sufficiently advanced education to join up with this class; and one Gilbertese student was also admitted as a senior student. Of these 11 stu dents, the Gilbertese youth is showing the best progress in his studies.

The junior class of students consists of 12 youths, selected from the neighbour ing islands, and it has been a difficult task to select suitable youths at such short notice.

This medical training on Guam is modelled on the same pattern as that of the Central Medical School in Fiji. The course will occupy four years of intensive training.

At present, four medical officers are acting as instructors and lecturers to these native students who are, as yet, in the early stages of absorbing a scientific basis in chemistry, physics and biology, with the senior class taking anatomy and physiology and bacteriology, in addi tion.

In January, 1947, a new class of 12 junior students will be admitted, and by that time the medical school will be in full swing.

The medical officer in charge at Guam is Captain R. H. Fletcher, of the US Medical Corps. Dr. Fletcher recently visited Washington, Honolulu and Fiji.

In Fiji he made a careful study of the system of training native youths as Native Medical Practitioners for the South Pacific Islands.

EVERY effort is being made to make the new Medical Practitioners’

School on Guam as up-to-date as possible. The equipment already in stalled is of a very high standard. The laboratories are modern, and emphasis will be made on the visual method of training students by cinema films, etc.

Clinical experience will be given to the students, not only at the neighbouring Naval Hospital, but also at the General Hospital on Guam.

It is probable that in the near future American medical officers will be able to take a complete course of training in tropical medicine at Guam.

It is obvious that a great future lies ahead of this native medical school on Guam, and the natives of the Marshall, Caroline and Guam Islands may look forward in the future to obtaining the services of a well-trained corps of Native Medical Practitioners, similar to those who have been trained in Fiji.

WHAT is wanted now is a new medical school for the Melanesian Islands (Papua, New Guinea, Solomons, etc.).

As the preliminary education of the native youths in Melanesia is so rudi mentary, it. is obvious that even, the best and brightest of these Melanesian youths will not be able to compete with Fijians or Polynesians.

In Fiji, a beginning was made in 1886 to train youths as NMP’s, and in those early days the training consisted of only two years’ intensive practical training in the barest outline of medical procedure.

It is strongly urged that the Adminis trations concerned seriously consider the opening of a Melanesian Medical School as a preliminary step to solving their great problems of native health.

Mr. D. H. Osborne, a veteran planter of Eastern Papua, after four years’ exile in Brisbane, finally got away back to his Islands home, by shipping as cook on a small Catholic Mission launch, which was being taken to Papua. They left Brisbane on April 24, spent 11 days in Cairns, doing something to the boat, and arrived in Port Moresby on May 28.