PNG Midwifery Leadership - Aussie Buddies Group 1 - October 2019

Written by Ruth King, Midwifery Advisor ACM

Rotary Midwife/contact: Judi Brown

Communicating with PNG Buddies:

The challenges of connecting the Aussie and PNG Buddies continue to be distance and technology.  However, all parties are managing to overcome this in a variety of innovative and creative ways to ensure that the PNG Midwives are able to progress with their projects.

In parallel, meetings are held online with Aussie Buddies at least every second month to engage and track progress of the projects they are assisting their PNG Buddies with.  The Aussie midwives meet via online video conferencing as they love being able to see each other as they catch up even though vast distances separate them.  In the progress meetings buddies are asked to reflect on:

1. How often have they been in contact with their PNG Buddy? What communication method/s have they found effective?
2. How is the project progressing?
3. Do they have the resources they need to complete the project? If not, what do they need?
4. What challenges have they encountered? How have they managed these?  
5. Is there anything else they would like to share?

Projects

The projects are a mechanism to collaborate and for the PNG Midwives a way to advance their leadership skills locally. Working across countries requires flexibility and the ability to adapt projects as they are further scoped out. There is general progress across all projects and all of the midwives are heavily invested in a successful outcome for them all.

Projects include:

1. Ellie & Bridget: Early Parenting and Family Planning education sessions at PAU.
2. Julie & Monica: Increase partners involvement in pregnancy care at PoM general Hospital.
3. Mirena & Vanessa: Addressing the high rate of teenage pregnancy seen at local clinics.
4. Nancy & Jane: Investigate support and resources needed for cervical screening by midwives in rural PNG.
5. Jacinta & Michelle: Implementation of guardian/support person with labouring women in PoM General Hospital.
6. Fabiana & Lesley: Improvement management of anaemia in pregnancy at Paradise Private Hospital.

The PNG Buddy program in print

Check out the latest issue of the Australian Midwifery News for a more detailed look into the projects and outcomes being achieved by the midwives from Workshop 1.

ACM Conference 2019

Dr Helen Hall (Facilitator) presented to the ACM National Conference in Canberra of this year to fabulous feedback.  The conference was also an opportunity for the Aussie midwives to reconnect again with Monica, Jane, Lesley, Alana, Hazel, Lois and Helen getting together.

ICM 32^nd Triennial Congress 2020

The abstract for ICM Congress in Bali 2020 has been accepted as a Poster.  Congratulations to Dr Helen Hall for making the submission on behalf of the team (Julie Kep, Jennifer Pyakalyia, Judi Brown, Ann Kinnear, Ruth King & Afzal Mahmood).

Preparing for workshop 2

The new Australian Buddies for Workshop 2 have been paired with Workshop 1 buddies to help them prepare for their trip to PNG in November (17-21).

The individual Buddies have been linked via email for mentorship as follows:

• Alana Street - Vanessa Page
• Lois Berry - Lesley Brown
• Jan Jones - Monica Scott
• Hazel Keedle - Bridget Ferguson
• Phoebe O'Carrigan - Michelle Mitchell
• Carolyn Russell - Jane Menke

We look forward to sharing more news with you about Workshop 2 as it commences.

There will be an expression of interest coming in the next few weeks for Workshop 3 which will be take place in August 2020.  Keep an eye on your member newsletters and social media for more details.

Read more about the project here