Papua New Guinea (PNG) has marked a new chapter in national Basic Emergency Care (BEC) training, with the successful delivery of the region’s first BEC provider and training-of-trainers courses taught entirely by nurses, for nurses.
The courses were hosted in Port Moresby from August 18th to the 22nd, led by local facilitators from Port Moresby General Hospital, National St John Ambulance PNG, and Angau Memorial Provincial Hospital.
The BEC course was developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) in collaboration with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the International Federation for Emergency Medicine (IFEM).
It is designed for first contact providers of emergency care in resource-constrained settings and provides a safe and structured approach to managing acutely ill and injured patients.
For the first time, an all-nursing team of BEC trainers led the delivery of the courses, showcasing the capability and leadership of PNG’s nursing workforce and equipping nursing leaders from fourteen provinces with essential, life-saving skills in emergency assessment and management.
The eighteen participants who took part included representatives from nursing schools across PNG as well as the National Department of Health (NDOH), ensuring broad national representation and alignment with health system priorities.
As nursing leaders, participants are now positioned to cascade these skills to colleagues in their provinces and institutions, multiplying the impact nationwide.
This training contributes further numbers to the existing 135 healthcare workers that have completed BEC training in PNG to-date.
These courses are being delivered as a partnership between the Regional Emergency and Critical Care Systems Strengthening Initiative (RECSI), the World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Development at the University of Technology Sydney (WHO CCNM UTS), and the NDOH.
RECSI and WHO CCNM UTS are both supported by the Australian Government through the Partnerships for a Healthy Region initiative. Course delivery has been facilitated by RECSI’s implementing partner National St John Ambulance PNG.
Quotes by RECSI were attributed to Sr Wilma Sebby, Nurse Unit Manager, Emergency Department, ANGAU Memorial Provincial Hospital, Morobe Provincial Health Authority, and PNG’s first nursing BEC Master Trainer.
“For nurses to teach nurses, it is a good thing. We speak the same language, and we know that nurses are the frontliners for any healthcare system. When a nurse is teaching, they will better understand us. We are kind of using the same language.”
Another quote was also attributed to Sr Marcia Willie, Nurse, Emergency Department, Port Moresby General Hospital, National Capital District Provincial Health Authority and BEC Course Coordinator.
“Basic Emergency Care training is very important for PNG nurses because it improves our everyday practice as care givers whether in the pre-hospital setting or in the health facility to follow a systematic approach when dealing with life threatening conditions.”
It also helps us to do proper handover and transfers between facilities or from pre-hospital care to the health facility so that the patient care is effectively carried out or continued.”
“As a Master Trainer, having this opportunity to teach BEC to my fellow nursing colleagues from around the country enables us to speak the same language and gives us the confidence to continue to reach out to as many nurses as we can and to train them so that they can become BEC providers.”