News upskilling programme for doctors and nurses

A new programme on upskilling doctors and nurses on the island will be implemented this year.

The training at the Niue Foou Hospital is being supported by Otago University, Counties Manukau Health and Middlemore Hospital.

Elisabeth Powell from Counties Manukau Health highlighted the unique scope of practice for Niue’s doctors, far beyond the normal scope a general practitioner would ordinarily deliver overseas or at least in NZ she found.

Powell joins Dr Katharina Blattner from Otago University to assist health professionals here on educational training regime as a fundamental shift to ensure our health care professionals here in Niue are supported by such training mechanism in the environment they are working in.  

The benefits of having it here as mentioned by Director General Social Services Gaylene Tasmania is taking a holistic approach and mitigating the loss also of health care professionals having to leave the island to obtain similar or equivalent training.  

Gaylene said the training is for the new doctors.  The first doctor to undergo training is Dr Waimanu Pulu intended for July, followed by Dr Jason Tautasi and Dr Monika Tasmania-Lafu intended for early next year followed by training for Niue’s nurses.