Empowering PNG’s midwives with the skills to lead for a brighter future

Together with Australia Awards, JBI is building capacity of midwives in Papua New Guinea by delivering a specially tailored Evidence-based Clinical Leadership Workshop as part of the Australia Awards In-Papua New Guinea (PNG) Midwifery Graduate Workshop.

The two-day workshop was recently delivered in Port Moresby to 43 midwives who had travelled from various locations across PNG. A tailored version of the JBI Evidence-based Clinical Leadership Workshop was conducted to address the specific knowledge and cultural needs of the Australia Awards participants in PNG to further develop their leadership skills within local communities and health services.

The workshop aimed to build the capacity of participants to manage, actively lead and facilitate change in their workplace, including conflict resolution, negotiation, communication and building workplace culture based on current best practice.

Training facilitator, Alexa McArthur who is a Senior Research Fellow at JBI and Midwife, said: "The workshop aimed to enable participants to explore theories and concepts relating to clinical leadership and change management in healthcare. Additionally, we aimed to equip health professionals with the knowledge and tools they need to become effective clinical leaders so that these midwives are equipped and empowered to be agents for change in their communities.”

Dr Lucy Lizarondo, also a Senior Research Fellow at JBI, said: “We had so much positive feedback at the conclusion of the workshop. Participants were very engaged, and appeared to enjoy being together with colleagues. I was particularly pleased to see the determination in the midwives to lead change in their country, and their resolve to implement sustainable evidence-based practice.”

Feedback submitted anonymously by the workshop participants also indicates the success of the workshop: “Thank you everyone for your great participation in this tremendous 2 day workshop. Very enriching especially regarding leaderships and clinical audits. Will continue to implement evidence based practice and try to make a change and close the gap from evidence to practice”.

The partnership between JBI and Australia Awards has brought hope for a brighter future for midwives in Papua New Guinea. With the successful delivery of the tailored JBI Evidence-based Clinical Leadership Workshop, 43 midwives are now better equipped and empowered to lead change in their communities. Their determination and resolve to implement sustainable evidence-based practice are promising signs of a positive impact on maternal and child health outcomes in the country.