The document provides information about the PNG Health Project run by HOPE4HEALTH and Queensland Rural Medical Education (QRME) which places final year Australian medical students at Kiunga District Hospital in Western Province, Papua New Guinea for their elective placements. The 5-6 week placements involve assisting local healthcare workers and gaining experience in various medical disciplines. Students are provided accommodation and have their flights covered, while being responsible for food and personal costs. Comprehensive information is given around the application process, location, student program, safety considerations, and contacts for further information.

1. PNG Health Project
Student Elective Scholarship Program
Kiunga District Hospital
Western Province, PNG

2. Health in Western
Province, PNG
Papua New Guinea (PNG) is one of
Australia’s closest neighbours, and
yet has some of the least developed
health care systems in the world.
People living in PNG suffer a
significant burden of infectious
disease including high rates of
tuberculosis and HIV. In addition to
this, other problems include poor
nutritional status, poor maternal
health as well as trauma attributed
to domestic and tribal violence.

3. Health in Western
Province, PNG
There is a real need for medical help
in the rural areas of PNG that attract
less attention from NGO’s, PNG
Government, expats and mining
companies. In contrast to Australia,
approximately 85% of PNG citizens
reside in rural areas (World Bank
data). Provision of a continual
stream of medical students into the
rural districts not only truly benefits
the PNG people, but also gives
Australian medical students a real
chance to experience an amazing
culture whilst making a difference,
and hopefully inspire them to
continue to develop the health care
system in PNG through their
professional careers. We hope the
experience will give students life
skills and knowledge that they can
pass on to their own community for
the great benefit of many more
people.

4. PNG Health Project
HOPE4HEALTH has established a
community support program in rural
PNG. Alongside Queensland Rural
Medical Education (QRME), we have
established a connection with
Kiunga District Hospital, located in
the Western Province of PNG.

5. PNG Health Project
In 2013, our annual gala ball, the
Jazz Dinner Dance, raised $20,000 to
support the program thanks to the
generous support of the wider gold
coast community and Griffith
University health students. Our first
significant investment with this
money has been the purchase of an
ECG. The need was identified
following reports that heart attacks
were being missed due to lack of
detection protocols which at the core
of detection is via the information
provided by an ECG machine. This
was presented to the hospital when
the first group of students for 2015
visited (see below).

6. PNG Health Project
We plan to sustain funding for the
purpose of providing medical
equipment, medical supplies and
educational materials for these
hospitals and the surrounding
communities. Currently, a significant
portion of medical care is delivered
to locally trained, community health
workers in these areas. We have
begun to facilitate the continuing
education of these individuals
through the provision of textbooks as
well as basic medical equipment for
their practice and use.

7. Student Involvement
Along with material assistance,
HOPE4HEALTH members have the
opportunity to undertake their final year
medicine elective at the Kiunga District
Hospital. This program was initiated by QRME
under the guidance of Prof. Scott Kitchener.
QRME is an organisation involved in the
training of Rural Generalist Medical
Practitioners in QLD and oversees the
elective’s logistics pre-travel orientation.
Students live and work in the western
province of PNG over a 5-6 week period and
provide valuable assistance to the local
health care system. Being general hospitals,
students have the opportunity to experience
all aspects of medicine including, emergency,
general medicine, surgery, obstetrics and
infectious diseases. It is hoped that by having
regular groups of students in the hospital, we
will be better able to oversee the
continuation of the aid element of our
project, and consolidation teaching and
learning from the previous groups.

8. Student Involvement
In consultation with QRME, the aim is to send
groups of 3-4 students every 7 weeks of the
university year (to coincide with elective
blocks in the Griffith University MD program).
This will aim to create a sustainable response
to areas of health workforce shortage.
Students will be expected to engage in the
following tasks while on placement:
• Assist and support medical practitioners at
the hospitals in managing inpatients and
outpatients at the hospital
• Assist in the education of local community
health workers
• Develop an appreciation for medical
practice in countries with less developed
health systems compared to Australia

9. Student Program
1. Two-day Orientation in
Toowoomba plus online lectures
2. 5-6 week Placement at Kiunga
District Hopsital (KDH), Western
Province PNG
a) Opportunity to join an outreach
patrol
i. Visit remote villages for 2-5
nights at a time
3. Day debrief in Cairns

10. Student Program
KDH Administrator Mr. Graeme Hill
will be your contact on the ground in
PNG and your main organiser.
He has been in the Western Province
as the KDH administrator for nearly 4
years and is an excellent source of
knowledge.
Megan O’Shannessy is QRME’s Clinical
Lead for the PNG Health Project who
will join you for your trip over and get
you settled in.
Kaitlyn Anderson is your student
Coordinator for the project and will be
your main contract prior, arranging all
your logistics and orientation.

11. Accommodation
Provided for by QRME and organized
by Mr. Graeme Hill is a secure 3
bedroom town house-style place.
Simple but clean with drinkable
running water, kitchen and bathroom.

12. Cost
Return flights from Cairns to Kiunga
and accommodation are covered by
QRME.
Students will have to cover costs for:
• flights to and from Cairns
• food and electricity (roughly
estimated to be $AUS 100/week)
and any other personal expenses.

13. Medications
It is advisable for students to see a
travel doctor at least 2 months before
departure and will need to cover costs
of vaccinations etc. All students are
advised to bring malaria prophylaxis
medication. Mosquito nets have been
purchased for the students by QRME.

14. VISA Process
Visas will be organized by QRME as
they can take weeks to process.
Students will need to hand their
passports to QRME at least 1 month in
advance of departure for the passports
to be taken as a group to the PNG
Embassy in Brisbane and then sent to
Port Moresby for visa processing. It is
the responsibility of students to
ensure their passports are up to date
(at least 6 months left before expiry).

15. Safety
Kiunga is a safe place to live, work and
learn provided students follow advice
of the supervisors and the locals.
Females are advised to always travel
with a male and students would be
best to always travel in a group.
It is not advised to travel late at night.
Remember that the local people are
friendly and will look out for you, but
to always exercise caution, use
commonsense and look out for each
other.

16. Additional Funding &
Insurance
The government OS-HELP loan is
offered to all students completing an
overseas elective as part of their
studies, and it is encouraged that
students apply for it if they wish. A
loan of $6000 can be granted for the 6-
week period.
There is also a $500 grant from Griffith
University (IEIS Loan) that is available
to all students on application (see the
Elective Information on L@G).
Griffith provides travel insurance free
of charge via International SOS which
is accessible through L@G and is
required to be completed prior to
elective acceptance by the School.

17. Location
Kiunga is a port town on the Fly River
in the Western Province of Papua New
Guinea, just upstream from the
D'Albertis Junction with the Ok Tedi
River. It is the southernmost terminus
of the Kiunga-Tabubil Highway.

18. Placement
The doctors work full-time and are
available on-call as per the roster,
alongside the other medical staff (the
staff structure and roles will be
explained at orientation).
Students will determine amongst the
group how to rotate/split the weeks of
the program in the following wards:
• General ward (24 beds)
• Maternity/O&G ward (15 beds)
• Outpatients department (OPD)
(operates as A&E)
• Operating theatre (OT)
• Main ward rounds with the doctors occur
Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings from
roughly 8.30am on the General Ward.
• Surgery is generally scheduled for Tuesdays and
Thursdays unless there are emergency cases.
• Pathology is open everyday for most basic blood,
urine and sputum test requests. Microspcopy/
Culture/Sensitivity is not available.
• Imaging is run by Mr. Kekela 5 days a week and
on-call on the weekends for X-Ray and
ultrasound scanning.
• Time may also be spent at the Maternal Child
Health (MCH) Clinic, and TB/STI Clinic. The
placement is very much directed by students and
where their interests lie.
• Students are encouraged to spend as much time
at the hospital gaining experience as possible.

19. Packing
• Hat
• Long sleeved/collared shirts/polos
• Long loose pants
• Scrub pants and tops x 2-4
• Sturdy boots for rainy days/patrol
• Runners for the hospital
• Underwear, personal items
• Rain jacket
• Mosquito repellant with DEET
• Sunscreen Any medications
(paracetamol, anti-nausea, etc.)
• Stethoscope, penlight, pens, hand
sanitizer, watch (will get DEET on
it)
• Laptop, hard drive with
music/movies (data projector in
house)

20. Packing extras
 Crocs or similar shoes to be used
only in theatre
 Goggles, togs, sunscreen and a
hat to use at swimming lessons
with the kids in the compound
pool (every Sunday afternoon)
 Spices like cinnamon (hard to
find)
Provided at the accommodation:
Sheets
Towels
Able to buy in Kiunga:
Toothpaste/toothbrush
Shampoo/conditioner/soap

21. FAQs
What is the usual flight plan? i.e do we fly straight to Kiunga from Brisbane? Generally the plan is something like this: Brisbane
 Cairns, stay in Cairns for 1 night  Cairns  Tabubil, PNG with Ok Tedi Mining Charter flight Tabubil  Kiunga, Western
Province PNG.
Should we bring any PPE like gloves/masks etc? The hospital has plenty of gloves (non-sterile and sterile) and gowns. There are
sinks and (occasionally) soap for handwashing but it is best to bring alcohol hand sanitizer for personal use. There are standard
face masks but no duck-bill masks so it is advised to bring duck-bill.
What is Kiunga like? A population of roughly 10-13 000 people (there are very few official birth certificates), Kiunga is similar to
small rural town in Australia. It is the first referral point from remote villages before the bigger hospitals (Tabubil and Port
Moresby) so you will see a lot of first point of call referrals. Most of the roads are dirt or semi-paved.
What currency is used in Kiunga? Are there ATMs or card services? PNG uses the soft currency of Kina. The exchange rate is
approximately 50 Australian cents to 1 Kina. There are 2 ATMs in town that accept travel cards and debit cards, but they do charge
a fee of 15 Kina (~$7.50) per transaction. The ATMs are safe and usually guarded by security. Alternatively some larger stores may
allow card use for transactions and smaller amounts of cash out.
Will my phone work in Kiunga? Most students in the past have bought Digicel (PNG’s main phone company) sim cards to use for
the trip duration. Digicel PNG uses 900Mhz bandwidth – check your phone is compatible or be prepared to buy a AUD$150 android
phone over there. Samsung phones have no problems taking those sim cards, but some iPhones have not been compatible. You
are able to buy cheap Android phones here to use if yours doesn’t work.
Can I access the Internet in Kiunga? Yes, not always a strong connection but generally good. Digicel provides ‘Flexicards’ for phone
credit and data credit. You can buy them in increments of 3, 5, 10 and 20 from many stalls and shops around Kiunga and use them
to purchase phone credit or data for Internet.
Example of credit deals:
17 Kina for 50 minutes of International calls (incl. Australia) to use within 24hrs of activating
60 Kina for 1.5GB data to use within 30 days
All Digicel sim cards get sent text messages with deal information on random days, and some days are ‘double data’ days so
watch out for those.

22. FAQs
What plug points are used in PNG? Standard Australian 3-pin plug points at 240V so all standard Australian
appliances should work.
Where do we buy food? What sorts of shops are available? There are fresh food markets everyday from early
morning until around 4pm, and then night markets that will sell fresh vegetables, fruit, garlic and ginger, fish
and (if you’re game) cassowary or other meat. There are also 3-4 small supermarkets that sell most canned
goods, frozen meat, UHT milk, soft drink, and white bread. There is also a small bakery that sells fresh white
bread, bread rolls and occasionally some cakes. There is also a hardware type store that sells a random
assortment of things, including bush knives!
Is the tap water safe to drink? Yes, the town water was safely had by the students. On patrol in the outer
villages however its advised to boil the water first.
Is it safe to walk around alone? Some of the students have described Kiunga’s safety level as similar to Surfers
Paradise on the GC. For girls its advised not to be alone as there are reports of hassling by men. Remember
that its more that there is a chance of you getting in the way of someone else’s disagreement rather than
causing one, so this is best avoided – particularly on Friday nights and early Saturday mornings when there may
have been late night drinking. This especially is the night to take caution.
Who would I call in case of emergency? Mr. Graeme Hill will be your best point of call, and you should all get
his phone number plus the phone numbers of your group. Make sure you always have at least a few Kina
phone credit. The doctors are also good people to call if you are ever stuck.
Is there a place to go for trivia on Tuesday nights? Why yes there is! The WPCL Staff Social Club – also known
as ‘Jungle Jims’ – is a local (mostly ex-pat) pub/club that holds Trivia night every Tuesday at 7pm. Cold beers
and new friends await.

23. Resources
• Standard Treatment Guidelines for Adult,
PNG Department of Health
http://www.adi.org.au/wp-
content/uploads/2013/07/2012_PNG-Dept-
Health_Adult-Standard-Treatment-
Manual.pdf
• Standard Treatment Guidelines for Common
Illnesses in Children, PNG Pediatric
Societyhttp://pngpaediatricsociety.org/wp-
content/uploads/2013/05/Standard-
Treatment-for-Common-Illnesses-of-
Children-in-PNG.pdf
• Malaria Diagnosis and the New Treatment
Protocol http://www.adi.org.au/wp-
content/uploads/2013/07/2009_PNG-Dept-
Health_PNG-Malaria-Treatment-Policy-
Document.pdf
• WHO Pocket Book of Hospital Care for
Children
http://pngpaediatricsociety.org/wp-
content/uploads/2013/05/WHO-Pocket-
Book-Hospital-Care-for-Children-2nd-
Edition-2013.pdf
• Melanesian Pidgin (or Tokpisin) – a Practical
Approach
https://www.livelingua.com/peace-
corps/Tokpisin/Melanesian%20Pidgin%20%
28or%20Tokpisin%29%20-
%20A%20Practical%20Approach.pdf

24. Applying
Apply through the QRME website on
the PNG Health Project page:
http://www.qrme.org.au/medical-
students/png-health-project/
The past students will be happy to
help with any questions about the trip,
applications or the medical side of
things or more information can be
found on the Hope 4 Health page:
http://hope4health.org.au/portfolio-
item/papua-new-guinea-health-
project/
Griffith University requires an official
application via the Self-Organised
Elective Tool on L&G (including
application to a high-risk country) and
then further communication will
largely be with QRME directly.

25. Contact
QRME
Megan O’Shannessy
Clinical Lead PNG Health Project
(selectives/electives)
m.oshannessy@qrme.org.au
07 4638 7999
Hope4Health
Secretary
secretary@hope4health.org.au

26. Past Students
Year Student Email Year Student Email
2013 Daniel Faux s2752985@griffithuni.edu.au 2016 Trent Townsend trent.townsend@griffithuni.edu.au
2013 Timothy Graves s2679813@griffithuni.edu.au 2016 Tuan Vu tuan.vu@griffithuni.edu.au
2013 Ashleigh Heron s2752411@griffithuni.edu.au 2016 Pushpraj Arora manu.arora@griffithuni.edu.au
2013 Pathum Jayasuriya s2752464@griffithuni.edu.au 2016 James Boyle james.boyle@griffithuni.edu.au
2013 Thomas Chalk s1779101@griffithuni.edu.au 2016 Erin Doyle erin.doyle2@griffithuni.edu.au
2013 Patrick Manley s2647299@griffithuni.edu.au 2016 Nicole Simpson nicole.simpson3@griffithuni.edu.au
2014 Siddhartha Kusukuntla s2788511@griffithuni.edu.au 2016 Nathaniel Chandra nathaniel.chandra@griffithuni.edu.au
2014 Felicity McIvor s2718211@griffithuni.edu.au 2016 Jeremy Lee jeremy.lee@griffithuni.edu.au
2014 David Molhoek s2622336@griffithuni.edu.au 2016 Briana Paskin briana.paskin@griffithuni.edu.au
2015 Oscar Close oscar.close@griffithuni.edu.au 2016 Shaun Purcell shaunspurcell@gmail.com
2015 Laura De Souza laura.desouza2@griffithuni.edu.au 2016 James Dando james.dando@griffithuni.edu.au
2015 Mikaela Seymour mikaela.seymour@griffithuni.edu.au 2016 Praneel Kumar s2806343@griffithuni.edu.au
2016 Michelle Burnham michellelindsay.burnham@griffithuni.edu.au 2016 Christel Lee christel.lee@griffithuni.edu.au
2016 Rebecca Calder rebecca.calder@griffithuni.edu.au 2016 Andrew Paul andrew.paul@griffithuni.edu.au
2016 Daniel Crow daniel.crow2@griffithuni.edu.au 2016 Stephanie Rose stephthedentist@gmail.com
2016 Ronald Huynh ronald.huynh@griffithuni.edu.au

27. Thank You
With thanks to those who support the
PNG Student Elective Program:
• Queensland Rural Medical
Education
• Hope 4 Health
• Kiunga District Hospital
• North Fly District Health Service
• Abt JTA – PNG Branch
• Griffith University
• OK Tedi Development Fund,
Western Province