Welcome to Lutheran School of Nursing
Lutheran School of Nursing Administration & Staff Building
2019 Graduation Ceremony
Brief History of Lutheran School of Nursing
Origin at Amele
The origin of the Lutheran School of Nursing goes back to 1936 when a 50 bed hospital was opened at Lutheran Mission, Amele, 15 miles from Madang. Dr. and Mrs. T.G. Braun from U.S.A. established the hospital with the help of other nursing staff from Germany and the U.S.A.
Five men were appointed by the Amele congregation to be trained as medical orderlies. These men had all had some schooling at mission schools in the Amele circuit. Lessons were given by Dr. and Mrs. Braun in pidgin as well as on-the-job training. In 1939 three more men were added to the training programme. The training continued until the end of 1942 when the Japanese invaded New Guinea.
Japanese Invasion
During the war five of the medical orderlies were allowed by the Japanese to continue their medical work amongst the people. The Amele hospital, which as used for a time by the Japanese as divisional headquarters, was bombed in 1943. In 1944 the five medical orderlies were called by the Australian army to work at the army hospital in Madang.
Hospital Rebuilt at Yagaum
After the war it was decided to change the site of the hospital from Amele to Yagaum (formerly a village by that name), 8 miles south west of Madang. The change in site was because of a good water supply, decreased costs of transportation and the upkeep of the road from Madang.
In 1950 a new 200 bed hospital was opened. Classrooms, 2 new wards and a leprosy ward was added in 1952/53, increasing the capacity of the hospital to 353 beds.
Lessons for the medical orderlies from Amele and some from Finschhafen were recommenced in 1952 and a new school programme conducted by Miss Marie Reitz from U.S.A., started in May, 1953. In 1955 the first graduation was held. Included in the graduating class were Fulalek, who was one of the original medical orderlies at Amele, and his daughter Sunei, whom we claim to be the first trained female New Guinea nurse. Fulalek later became the Yagaum pastor after doing some training on Karkar Island in 1957. In 1974, Pastor Fulalek’s youngest daughter Emma, started in the Enrolled Nurse Programme.
Up until 1960 Pidgin was the only language used for teaching. In 1961 with the new intake of students, the language of instruction used was English.
In 1962 a Nursing Aide course for girls was started. This course was conducted in Pidgin.
Recognition by the Government for Aid Post Orderlies
The first class of students sat for the Government Aid Post Orderly examination in 1963, as the certificate issued by Yagaum Hospital was not recognised by the Government.
In 1964, 6 students from Yagaum were transferred to the Papuan Medical College School of Nursing, Port Moresby to do one year and 4 months more training and then to sit for the Territorial Nurse Certificate. Every year from 1964 to 1968 students who passed the test set by the Papuan Medical College, School of Nursing, were transferred to that School. Those who did not pass, tried for the Aid Post Orderly Certificate. From 1964 the Syllabus used was the same as that used by the Papuan Medical College School of Nursing, Port Moresby.
Proposal for a Lutheran School of Nursing
On 22nd July, 1966 a meeting of Lutheran Mission New Guinea (LMNG), New Guinea Lutheran Mission (NGLM), and Australian Lutheran Mission ALM) was held to put forward a proposal for a joint Lutheran School of Nursing. This School was to conduct the entire nursing course at Yagaum rather than to send students to Port Moresby as many graduates did not return to staff Lutheran hospital and health centres.
The Nursing Council for Papua New Guinea inspected the hospital and school and advised that the hospital staff and patient numbers and composition were adequate, but that more teachers and better accommodation for the students should be provided before a proposal would be considered.
A new boys’ dormitory was built (the old one burned down accidently), and a donor agency in Germany assured us that they would provide a new dormitory for females if the entire nursing programme could be conducted at Yagaum. The girls’ dormitory housing 60 students was opened in September, 1970. The Bavarian Lutheran Church donated the money.
Lutheran School of Nursing Recognised.
The Articles of Association for a Lutheran School of Nursing were finalised on 14th May, 1968, and on 31st October, 1968 approval was granted by the Nursing Council for the Lutheran School of Nursing to conduct the entire nursing education programme.
Miss. Merla Garrett from Australia was appointed Principal.
The School was set up with a separate budget from Yagaum and was independed organisationally, although closely related.
Since 1968 nursing program for Territorial Nurses (3 years and 4 months course), and later the Enrolled Hospital Nurse Course (3 years when the Territorial Nurse Couse ceased, have been conducted at the Lutheran School of Nursing. Graduates from these two programmes have completed post-basic and post-graduate educational programmes conducted by the Department of Health in the fields of obstetrics, paediatrics, psychiatric nursing, community health and nursing education, and are now staffing Lutheran and government Health Services.
Two graduate of Lutheran School of Nursing who have Diplomas in Nursing Education from the College of Allied Health Science in Port Moresby, are currently teaching in the Lutheran School of Nursing. One of these graduates, Mr. Wilson Waesa, from Siassi Island, was appointed Acting Principal in 1975, the year of Papua New Guinea Independence.
National Health Plan
In 1973, in compliance with the National Health Plan to rationalise the health services in Papua New Guinea, Yagaum Hospital and Madang General Hospital agreed to complement their services, and not to duplicate them. Yagaum Hospital was designated a Health Centre.
Because acute surgical and medical patients were then treated at the Government Hospital in Madang, the Enrolled Hospital Nurse students at the Lutheran School of Nursing were transfer to Madang General Hospital during the 3rd year of their course to get the necessary experience in the operating theatre and in caring for medical and surgical patients.
The male students were housed in low covenant housing on the Madang Hospital compound, and the female student live in a large house (“Bazasab”) owned by the Lutheran Church, across the road from the hospital. One female teacher was resident at “Bazasab” and another teacher (male) lived at Yagaum and drove to Madang and back every day.
The classroom and office space for teachers at Madang General Hospital was previously a hospital ward.
Some of the books from the library were transferred to Madang, but the library, teaching aide, duplicating equipment and the rest of the teaching staff remained at Yagaum.
Hospital or Community Health Nurse
The 1974 intake of student had the choice of going into one of two stream of nurse education – either Hospital Nurse or Community Health Nurse. In the second year of the course the Hospital Nurses transferred to the Madang General Hospital and the Community Health Nurses transferred to Immanuel Lutheran Hospital to receive experience and teaching at the Hospital and at several health centres and maternal and child health clinics in the Enga Province (previously part of the Western Highlands District). In the middle of the third year of the programme (1976) we plan on bringing the two streams together for some classes and more experience, and at the end of the third year, graduate nurse, with either a certificate in Hospital Nursing or Community Health Nursing.
The arrangement with the Wabag Lutheran Church at present is that they contribute 25% of the budget and receive 25% of the graduates for staffing their health services. (The Wabag Lutheran Church emerged from the New Guinea Lutheran Mission; the Lutheran Mission New Guinea and the Australian Lutheran Mission became part of the ELC-PNG).
Reduction of Lutheran Medical Services Budget
In November, 1975 the Lutheran Medical Services budget for 1976 was out by K20, 000 (Aust. $20,000). The Board of Directors of L.M.S. met in November to discuss this problem. Yagaum was using up more than half the total budget for medical work (the total programme is 10 health centres and a School of Nursing), and it was decided that the only place where the budget could be cut was at Yagaum Health Centre.
Yagaum was therefore reduced to a Rural Health Centre of 60 beds to be run by a P.N.G. nurse with a Diploma in Community Health. The doctor at Yagaum was to be transferred to Finschhafen. Patients needing the services of a doctor were to be transferred to Madang Provincial Hospital (new name for Madang General Hospital). The community health services – Maternal and Child Health Clinics and Aid Post Supervision were to be retained.
Because of the reduce bed capacity and type of patients who would be treated at Yagaum, it was necessary to move the entire School of Nursing to the Madang Provincial Hospital in order for the School to retain the status as a School of Nursing recognised by the Nursing Council for P.N.G.
The facilities not being used by the health centre and School of Nursing were offered to the Department of Health for use by the Malaria Control Training School, and the College of Allied Health Sciences, Madang (formerly Para-medical Training College).
Move to Madang
The School equipment and library were move to Madang at the end of 1975. The desks, chairs, wardrobes and other furniture which could not be used in Madang were stored in one of the empty wards at Yagaum.
The school was unable to take a new intake of students in 1976 because of lack of dormitory space for both male and female students.
Because of the expansion of Madang Town, and the increased patient numbers, it is envisaged that the classroom, office and storage space at present used by the school will be required for patient use in future.
Quality of Nursing Care
The Madang Provincial Hospital conducts a 1 year Nursing Aide Programme for girls who have had 6 years of Primary School education. Nurses in the Enrolled Nurse courses have had 2 or more years of High School education and do a 3 year course, and so provide nursing care which is of a better quality than that given by Nursing Aides because of the higher basic education and the longer training course.
Nurses from the Lutheran School of Nursing give nursing care to the patients in the Madang Provincial Hospital and are rostered for regular duty (morning, evening and night shifts) in the wards and out patient department. Because the nurses are part of the work force of the hospital, they are paid by the Government. This enables the students to pay for their own food which considerably reduces the running costs of the school.
Source of Graduate Nurses
The Lutheran School of Nursing is the only school in the Madang District (population 200,000) conducting the Enrolled Hospital Nurse Course and the Enrolled Community Health Nurse Course. Graduates from the Lutheran School of Nursing at present are working in both Government and Church hospitals and health centres, and are running Community Health Services such as Maternal and Child Welfare Clinics in all parts of PNG.
The Wabag Lutheran Church relies on graduates from the Lutheran School of Nursing to staff its health centres as they have great difficulty in recruiting nurses from their area.
Without the supply of graduates from the Lutheran School of Nursing, Lutheran Medical Services and Wabag Lutheran Church would be without personnel to take charge of their Health Centres.
Graduates from the Lutheran School of Nursing are eligible to take Post basic and post graduate courses to equip them for positions of leadership in specialty areas, nursing administration, community health and teaching.
(Lower level personnel – Nursing Aides and Aid Post Orderlies are trained at other centres in the Lutheran Medical Services and Wabag Lutheran Church, but these categories are not able to take charge of a centre or take post basic and post graduate courses).
The Government at both Provincial and Central level have expressed their endorsement of the School of Nursing (see separate statements by Dr. Quentin Reilly, Provincial Health Officer, Madang and Sir Paul Lapun, Minister for Health).
Independent Status
It is understood that the Lutheran School of Nursing will remain an independent School in a Government Hospital. The School will work in close association with the Hospital, and be subject to the minimum standards set down by the Nursing Council for PNG, but the Board of Directors of the Lutheran School of Nursing will be the authority for the School.
