Capacity building for Pacific Island countries: the challenges and benefits of developing a postgraduate clinical training programme

Abstract

Objectives: To describe the development of a postgraduate clinical training programme in mental health for the Pacific region by the Fiji National University (FNU), the challenges and benefits. Conclusions: The establishment of FNU’s one-year full-time postgraduate diploma in mental health (PGDMH) has resulted in graduates across the Pacific in all three main regions of Oceania trained as frontline practitioners in mental health. Most of the graduates hold key mental health positions in their respective countries. The PGDMH provides culturally relevant and sensitive training in settings and with resources similar to the graduates’ homelands. Challenges relate mainly to the sustainability of the programme, selection of candidates, addressing the needs of stakeholders and teaching in an evolving, under-resourced mental health service. The ongoing challenge continues to be the maintenance of a symbiotic co-existence that results in mutual benefits for both the University and stakeholders without jeopardizing the integrity of the programme or the independence of the University.