Congratulations to long-term Pacific partner, colleague and friend of the NCCTRC Mr Mamatuki Sosefo who has been appointed to the position of Deputy Director of Nursing at Lautoka Hospital, Fiji.
With a background in emergency nursing, Mr Sosefo says the new role will focus on administration and clinical support within the hospital, although he hopes to proactively provide support by engaging with nursing staff in the Western Division. and bridging gaps between management and the clinical workforce.
“I want to ensure all of my colleagues feel valued for the vital work they do,” he said.
“Responding to COVID-19 over the last two years and has seen a lot of hard work from our clinical workforce, at times with limited resources… I have a very proactive vision for this role and I am excited to support our workforce as much as possible.”
Mr Sosefo first engaged with NCCTRC when he participated in the Major Incident Medical Management Support (MIMMS) course in 2014. Very quickly he was recognised as a natural leader with a clear passion for emergency care.
Not long after completing the course, Mr Sosefo became a local instructor of the MIMMS course and worked alongside the NCCTRC Regional Engagement team in providing mentorship and up-skilling workshops across Fiji.
In 2016, Mr Sosefo visited NCCTRC in Darwin, Australia, as part of a mentorship program allowing him to work alongside the organisation’s senior clinical nurse consultants and Regional Education team. Mr Sosefo attributes much of this experience to how he now applies himself in a leadership position.
“Working alongside colleagues from NCCTRC and AUSMAT is one of the greatest opportunities I have had in my career… the nurses I have worked alongside have allowed me to build on my own personal expertise and welcomed me into an international family.”
In 2021, AUSMAT was positioned in Fiji to provide COVID-19 surge support. During this time, Regional Engagement Program Pacific Postgraduate Nurse Coordinator Antony Robinson explained that Mr Sosefo was an integral member of the local health team and key to the success of AUSMAT’s relationship with Fiji more broadly.
“Mamatuki and his team in the Suva emergency department led ‘from the front’ during the COVID-19 outbreak, using hard work and innovation to maximise their response for their patients,” Mr Robinson said.
“I could see Mamatuki frequently on the floor in the ED, working ‘in the trenches’ to keep staff and patients safe in very difficult conditions.”
Mr Sosefo says the most important lesson he has learn from AUSMAT and NCCTRC which he takes into his new role is to “remain humble and focus on capacity building”.
“Beyond my clinical expertise, I want to be proactive and understanding of every employee’s situation. I am always impressed by how AUSMAT clinicians remain very humble in a Fijian setting and actively work to understand and appreciate Pacific culture in a hospital setting,”
“I think I can lead by example in my new role and encompass much of what I have learnt about leadership, capacity building and disaster preparedness from NCCTRC and AUSMAT,
“I feel prepared and passionate about positively contributing to Lautoka Hospital in my new role.”
Mr Sosefo is excited to continue engaging with NCCTRC and the Regional Engagement Program. As an organisation, we congratulate Mr Sosefo on his new position and thank him for his unwavering dedication to nursing and disaster preparedness in Fiji.
Gabrielle Lyons
Communications and Digital Engagement Officer