Professor Asiata Dr. Satupaitea Viali has been appointed the Vice-Chancellor for the Oceania University of Medicine.

As the University embarked on its search for a new Dean for Samoa and the Asia Pacific in 2023, Professor Viali returned to the University as Interim Dean to lead the search, having played a pivotal role during OUM’s formative years, accreditation, and before the new TTM Hospital opening in 2012.

He was OUM’s first Dean and Professor of Medicine in 2002, leading the school when its first graduates earned their medical degrees in 2007.

Among his first accomplishments as Vice Chancellor, Professor Viali was honoured to appoint fellow Samoan and OUM Class of 2011 graduate Dr. George Tuitama as the University’s Dean for Samoa, American Samoa, and the Asia Pacific. He is a noted senior doctor in psychiatry and a mental health researcher throughout the Asia Pacific.

"No one is better prepared to guide this region's students into rewarding medical careers as researchers and clinicians than Dr. George Tuitama," said Asiata.

"As an OUM alumnus who has studied and presented on mental health issues throughout the Asia Pacific, he knows the challenges they will face and how to help them overcome those challenges to make a major impact on their local medical communities.”

Dean Tuitama has spent the last decade as the only full-time practicing Psychiatrist in Samoa, as Registrar and Acting Head of the Mental Health Unit at TTM Hospital, and Head of Mental Health Clinical Services for the Samoan National Health System.

He is a 2011 OUM graduate who before beginning his medical school journey earned his undergraduate degree in Electrical Engineering from Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, Australia. OUM Samoan Leadership Page Two Since graduating from medical school, Dean Tuitama has become a regional mental health authority for Samoa and the Asia Pacific region.

He first earned a Postgraduate Diploma in Mental Health and Addiction from Auckland University of Technology, and is currently working on his Masters in Mental Health Practice from Auckland University of Technology/Auckland University of Medicine. He has also attended and facilitated workshops and conferences throughout the region sponsored by organizations such as the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, the World Health Organization (WHO), and the US Department of State. Topics have ranged from child and adolescent mental health to addiction and substance abuse disorders to depression and training for mental health workers.

 “In my new role as the Regional Dean looking after Samoa, American Samoa, and Asia Pacific, I am looking forward to assisting the OUM students in furthering their medical training and experience," says Dean Tuitama.

"It is always good to come back to where you started from and to teach the younger doctors to become better and great doctors. The previous OUM student who has now become the teacher/doctor, will teach other students to become greater teachers and greater doctors. This is my passion.”

As the Dean for Samoa, American Samoa, and the Asia Pacific, Dr. Tuitama will provide leadership and guidance to students in the region and oversee clinical rotations at TTM Hospital and other regional teaching facilities, monitoring student progress during their clinical training. He will also work with hospitals on internship positions that may be open to OUM graduates.