John Griffiths commenced volunteering in Papua New Guinea in 1998 and led the first Cabrini Outreach Orthopaedic Service Program to Modilon General Hospital in Papua New Guinea in 2000. He has visited the country 17 times to carry out vital orthopaedic surgery for local residents.
In honour of his commitment to education and training at Modilon General Hospital, Cabrini and Modilon General Hospital have established the John Griffiths Research Travel Scholarship.
The aim of the scholarship is to recognise the contribution of local doctors who are carrying out important research in Papua New Guinea. The scholarship will be awarded each year to a doctor from Modilon General Hospital, enabling them to present their research in Australia.
The inaugural scholarship was awarded to Dr John Bolnga for his research into maternal near-misses in Papua New Guinea.
Dr Bolnga is the specialist obstetrician at Modilon General Hospital.
The scholarship enabled Dr Bolnga to come to Australia during Cabrini’s Research Week to present his study Maternal near-misses at a provincial hospital in Papua New Guinea: A prospective observational study, which was recently published in the Australian and New Zealand journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.
During his visits to Papua New Guinea, Mr Griffiths provided specialist orthopaedic care and education to patients and staff at Modilon General Hospital.
He has mentored many doctors at Modilon General Hospital, including Professor Jerzy Kuzma, who is a leading orthopaedic surgeon at Modilon hospital and a lecturer in orthopaedics at Divine Word University in Papua New Guinea where he continues to train the next generation of Orthopaedic surgeons.
In 2017, John announced it would be his last trip to Papua New Guinea and was handing over the orthopaedic program to Adrian Trivett who is currently at Modilon General Hospital in Madang with a medical team, operating on patients and educating local hospital staff.
John Griffiths has shown undeniable commitment to orthopaedic education in Papua New Guinea and has helped to improve the health of the local community.
The John Griffiths Research Travel Scholarship aims to:
- Foster an ongoing relationship between Cabrini and Modilon General Hospital
- Provide an opportunity for a Papua New Guinean doctor to present research at an international conference
- Encourage a culture of research across both organisations
- Inspire multidisciplinary research
- Contribute to improved quality and safety in healthcare
Please find links below to John Bolnga’s research:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28580650
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Dr John Bolnga and Mr John Griffiths during Cabrini Research Week 2018 |