Diabetes Nurse Specialist Mentor

Closing Date: 08 December 2024

Category: Healthcare & Medical

Change your scene and become a VSA Volunteer and share your experience, knowledge, and skills to transform the lives of many. Work with our partner organisation to create a fair future for all. 
 
VSA will organise and fund, flights, visas, insurance, accommodation, living allowance and utilities while on assignment. 

Please note VSA Volunteers must be a NZ citizen or permanent resident. 

Volunteering with VSA 
 
Volunteer Service Abroad (VSA) is not your typical volunteering agency, we are committed to building sustainable communities across the Pacific. If you’re an experienced Diabetes Nurse Specialist Mentor, looking for an extraordinary overseas experience in the Pacific to build into your field of expertise – working collaboratively with the East New Britain Provincial Health Authority (ENBPHA) then read on, as we have an exciting opportunity in store for you!
 
Our Partner Organisation - East New Britain Provincial Health Authority (ENBPHA)
The East New Britain Provincial Health Authority (ENB PHA) was established as a unified healthcare entity for the province and is responsible for the provision of publicly funded healthcare. It plays a crucial role in protecting, promoting, and improving the health and well-being of the population.

The Authority has the mandate to ensure the availability of specialist doctors in hospitals and rural health facilities, establish and monitor provincial health standards, and provide guidance on healthcare issues.

The Authority's responsibilities also include disease prevention and control, healthcare planning and policy, data collection and analysis, healthcare quality improvement, and health promotion and education.

The Assignment
This assignment is a partnership assignment between VSA and the East New Britain Provincial Health Authority (ENBPHA).

In this assignment a VSA Volunteer with experience will provide support to ENBPHA to strengthen capacity and capability in preventing, treating, and controlling diabetes.

In Papua New Guinea, there is a concerning increase in preventable deaths and disabilities linked to diabetes.

The effects of an unhealthy diet, inadequate nutrition, smoking, and harmful use of alcohol and betel nuts are apparent in the rising rates of chronic conditions like diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and hypertension. Diabetes and its complications are major causes of illness and death, leading to distress and significant burdens on patients, their families, and society as a whole. People with untreated or poorly managed diabetes often develop kidney failure, blindness, and foot problems that may require amputation.

The ENBPHA is looking for an experienced Diabetes Nurse Specialist to help strengthen their capacity in diabetes prevention, treatment, and control.
The VSA Volunteer should have a solid clinical background in diabetes care and education, along with experience in training and mentoring healthcare professionals.

The Volunteer
Are you someone who wants to make a difference, have a sense of adventure and like the challenge of being outside your comfort zone?  VSA Volunteers are technical experts who impart their skills and knowledge to the local community. You will need to be flexible, adaptable, resourceful, resilient with a passion for Aotearoa and the wider Pacific community.

We're looking for a volunteer with the following:

  •  Registered Nurse with a current Annual Practising Certificate
  •  Minimum of 3 years of experience in diabetes management,   preferably in a hospital setting
  •  Strong knowledge of diabetes prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and   control strategies.
  • Demonstrated ability to work effectively in a multidisciplinary team environment.
  • Experience in training and mentoring healthcare professionals
Desirable
• Experience living or working in a Pacific Island country.
• Experience in diabetes-related wound management.

The Country
Most people living in Papua New Guinea (PNG) are Melanesian, but some are Micronesian or Polynesian. PNG has over 800 known languages although there are three official languages: Tok Pisin, English, and Hiri Motu. Numerous indigenous languages are still used by people from a society that ranges from traditional village-based life to modern urban living.

Underlying the Papua New Guinean culture is the wantok system. Wantok, or ‘one talk’, refers to the people who speak your language or your extended family/clan; a Papua New Guinean’s primary loyalty will be to their wantok.
  
The country is predominately Christian, with indigenous faith and spirituality still important to many locals.
  
The people of Papua New Guinea are famously warm and hospitable and the isolated mountain ranges are often home to unique fauna and flora found nowhere else in the world.
  
Apply Now!

Apply for this amazing opportunity through our website. For more information on this assignment, email volunteer@vsa.org.nz.



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We are looking for a volunteer with:

  • 9 month Volunteering opportunity in Papua New Guinea
  • Flights, accommodation and other expenses covered by VSA
  • Make a lasting difference across the Pacific

VSA covers flights, accommodation, insurance and some expenses. A living allowance is also provided.