Medical education linked to Samoa's health system is the focus of a two-day international medical conference currently underway in Apia.

The Gold Coast Medical Association's Samoan Medical Conference started on Friday morning at the Taumeasina Island Resort and targets students and medical professionals and brings together speakers with academic, research and educational backgrounds on issues considered relevant to Samoa's health system.

Speakers at the two-day conference include Samoa's Minister for Health, Valasi Tafito Selesele as well as the President of the Gold Coast Medical Association, Professor Philip Morris, Oceania University of Medicine's Prof. Athol Mackay plus Pule D. Viali Lameko and Asiata Prof. Satupaitea Viali and Prof. Alan Fraser from the University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff in the United Kingdom. Samoa's Health Director General, Aiono Prof. Alec Ekeroma was also scheduled to present but it is understood that he is currently abroad.

Topics to be covered during the two-day conference range from "Artificial Intelligence in Medicine" to "Samoa's Health Profile", "Facial Surgery and Skin Cancer" and "Orthopaedic Trauma". 

In an interview with the Samoa Observer on Friday, Prof. Morris said this is their fourth conference where they've contributed to a local medical association in the Pacific and they are happy to be in Samoa to assist through these advanced medical talks.

"Last year we came to Samoa and asked some of the doctors and people in the medical association if they're associated free of charge and with a program that will cover areas of medicine that they might be interested in," he said. 

"Majority of the speakers from overseas are from the Gold Coast, Queensland [and] New South Wales in Australia, one very senior speaker on machine learning from Wales in Great Britain but he's Scottish and he is keen to learn about Robert Louis museum and he has connected with a colleague to hike up to Mount Vaea.

"We just like to contribute to the development of medical education and training in the South Pacific and with our brothers and sisters in the medical profession here and we're very happy to be here.

"There was nothing specific about Samoa's health situation that was of great concern, we heard earlier that there was an outbreak of measles and that was an interesting thing to contemplate. 

"But it was nothing specific or worrying about Samoa other than just contributing to the medical education of this area."

On Saturday there will be two workshops, one on how to resuscitate children infants and babies and the other on eye disease and how to identify and treat them, which is part of the medical education of Pasifika and another on pathology, pathological tests before concluding with a visit to the Tupua Tamasese Meaole main hospital in the afternoon at Motootua.

Meanwhile, Prof. Morris is a distinguished psychiatrist and the President of the Gold Coast Medical Association who holds multiple leadership positions in prestigious organizations, such as the Pacific Rim College of Psychiatrists, the Australian National Association of Practising Psychiatrists, and the Australia and New Zealand Mental Health Association. 

In an interview with this newspaper, Dr. Viali shared the significance and benefit of the conference for all medical students and professionals, not only in Samoa but also in Tokelau as they are also participating to expand their knowledge as well.

"It's not very often that we get international speakers in Samoa and not very often that our medical staff attend this sort of staff locally," he said. "Almost 56 of them are attending and that is to update all our knowledge on what's happening in the various areas of medicine - cardiac, obstetric, paediatric, pathology and many other areas."

According to Dr. Viali, over 130 from hospitals, the private sector, doctors from the Ministry of Health, staff from the School of Medicine, and Oceania School of Medicine, and about 30 plus medical students from both schools are participating.

He then shared about heart diseases and how Samoa managed to improve from this common disease in the country.

"Rheumatic heart disease and rheumatic fever which is so common in Samoa and in the Pacific. I just returned from Tokelau and spent three weeks there screening and their situation is similar to Samoa.

"Rheumatic heart disease comes out of rheumatic fever and our government is sending quite a lot overseas for surgery. It's getting better, but we still need to be more vigilant in making sure that we follow up with the people that have rheumatic fever and so they also talk about heart attacks, obstetric type staff and baby issues.

"Me and Viali have been working with them for the last eight months trying to organise this conference. What gives motivation? Because of what great topics they'll talk about and what they bring to Samoa for us the local staff and our medical students have come to listen as well as our local doctors and doctors and directors in Tokelau are coming to listen so it's all beneficial for us."