Kiwi doctors welcomed the opportunity to take part in last week’s Continuing Medical Education workshop in the Cook Islands
Twenty-four doctors from rural areas around Aotearoa New Zealand were able to share experiences with their Cook Islands counterparts at a workshop held in Rarotonga last week.
The Otago Medical School’s Continuing Medical Education (CME) Rural Generalist Workshop returned to the Cook Islands after a five-year absence due to Covid-19 disruption.
The three-day workshop (26-28 August) was organised by Otago’s Centre for Rural Health postgraduate programme in collaboration with the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners’ Division of Rural Hospital Medicine and Te Marae Ora Cook Islands Ministry of Health.
University of Otago Associate Dean Pacific (Christchurch) Dr Kiki Maoate says the workshop provided an opportunity for doctors working in New Zealand and the Cook Islands to exchange clinical, professional and cultural experiences.
Workshop participants discussed topics such as the management of drowning, cardiology, HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis and research, and had a tour of Rarotonga Hospital.
Te Marae Ora Director of Primary Healthcare Dr Te Ariki Faireka says, “We are happy to have the workshop back in the Cook Islands again after many years of it being held exclusively in New Zealand. We welcome the close collaboration between our different organisations and the positive outcomes that come out of these types of workshops.”
Dr Faireka says the workshop helped participants understand the different contexts between NZ urban vs rural and Cook Islands urban vs rural, and the expectations of the populations in those settings.
“We look forward to this ongoing relationship and welcome the continued support for our workforce in the Cook Islands.”
Otago's Pacific Island Nation Liaison (Va'a o Tautai) and Associate Professor with the Centre for Rural Health, Kati Blattner, says it was great for the CME workshop to return to the Cook Islands and those attending welcomed the opportunity to talk with, and learn from, their peers.
The workshop supports the Cook Islands General Training Programme graduates and other Cook Islands clinicians who have completed or are currently undertaking Otago rural postgraduate programme distance papers.