PNG Health Minister Elias Kapavore has criticized the PNG Medical Board over a nine-month delay in registering a Papua New Guinean doctor trained overseas, saying the country cannot afford hold-ups while facing a shortage of medical professionals.
Minister Kapavore said instructions had already been given to the Medical Board and authorities responsible for registering health workers to review existing procedures and adopt processes that meet current workforce demands.
The delay comes as Papua New Guinea continues to face a severe shortage of doctors. According to World Health Organization data, the country has about 0.5 physicians for every 10,000 people.
Minister Kapavore said the Government was trying to address the shortage by supporting more training institutions and increasing funding for health personnel emoluments.
The minister’s comments follow complaints by Dr Sylvania Anisa, who returned to Papua New Guinea after completing medical studies and clinical training in Turkey but is still waiting for approval to practice.
“It is heartbreaking to return home wanting to serve my people and be met with silence,” Dr Anisa said.
Dr Anisa said there was no clear pathway for overseas-trained graduates seeking medical registration in PNG.
“There has been no transparency, no formal updates, and no indication of how long the process will take,” she said.
However, PNG Medical Board chairman Dr Paul Sali said the Board had already considered Dr Anisa’s case and advised her to follow the same process required of graduates from medical schools not recognized by the Board.
“After doing Medicine she came back to PNG to get registered, but the Board told her to enroll in UPNG Medical School to do Diploma in Clinical Practice just like the other medical graduates from China,” Dr Sali said.
He said the process had been in place for graduates from foreign medical schools that are not recognized by the Board because of concerns over clinical exposure and training standards.
“This process has been in place for students that graduate from medical schools not recognized by the Board due to lack of clinical exposure,” he said.
Dr Sali said several graduates from unrecognized overseas institutions were already undertaking the Diploma in Clinical Practice through the University of Papua New Guinea’s School of Medicine and Health Sciences.
“Currently we have medical students from those groups undergoing the Diploma in Clinical Practice,” he said.
“Some have passed the Diploma in Clinical Practice and are now doing their Residency program for full registration and licensing.”
Dr Sali said Dr Anisa would also be required to meet PNG Medical Board registration requirements before receiving a license to practice.
“She will follow the same pathway as the other medical graduates from unrecognized medical training institutions and also have to meet our PNG Medical Board registration requirements,” he said.
Related news: https://www.thepngsun.com/returned-doctor-waits-nine-months-for-png-medical-registration/
He added that the Board had already written to Dr Anisa advising her to enroll in the diploma program and that Dean of the School of Medicine and Health Sciences Dr Taufa had assisted her with the enrolment process.
“The Board wrote to her to get herself enrolled in the Diploma in Clinical Practice, the program specially designed for those young students who graduated from foreign medical schools,” Dr Sali said.