WLI alumna and anaesthetist, Elizabeth Inaido from Papua New Guinea (PNG) shares how she plans to contribute to building a higher-quality, better-resourced and more accessible healthcare system in PNG, with a focus on anaesthesia and critical care services.
With 20 years’ experience in clinical medicine and medical education obtained in the Pacific region – including working as a doctor in rural hospitals in PNG where she witnessed the impact of resource scarcity challenges firsthand – Elizabeth is deeply passionate about enhancing PNG’s healthcare not only at the individual practitioner level, but also at health system level within her specialty.
Having recently completed her Master’s in Health Economics, Management and Policy at the University of Newcastle, Elizabeth is eager to apply her strengthened expertise in a strategic way to help improve Papua New Guinea’s healthcare system.
Aiming high, adding value
In addition to aiming high with her academic achievements, Elizabeth has taken full advantage of the WLI program’s various learning and professional development opportunities. She is a LeadershipConnect alumni for both 2024 and 2025 and attended last year’s Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists (ANZCA) Annual Scientific Meeting (ASM), which was held in Cairns in QLD, as part of her professional development opportunity.
“I’d just completed my Australia Awards scholarship before attending the conference, so my main goal focused on reintegrating myself back into the healthcare system, by meeting with senior colleagues from PNG Society of Anaesthetists (PNGSA) and ANZCA at the conference,” explains Elizabeth.
In addition to her clinical role as an anaesthetist, Elizabeth aims for a diversified role as a health systems consultant within her specialty in PNG.
“Meeting with senior doctors at the conference turned out to be fruitful, as I had the opportunity to discuss the added value that my new skillset could bring to the specialty, especially at a “whole-health-system” level. Using lessons from the Leadership-Connect curriculum, I now apply a developmental lens to enhance collaboration within my specialty and the health sector” says Elizabeth.
“Collaboration in the medical field is extremely important for my developmental leadership journey back in PNG, and I’m so grateful for the support from WLI and Australia Awards for providing the opportunity to attend the conference to enhance this.”
Looking to the future
The conference’s theme ‘Future Proof’ focused on innovative approaches to maintaining the skill and quality of anaesthesia, particularly in terms of patient safety, and showcased expert speakers from around the world, including the Pacific region.
Elizabeth says she learnt a lot from some of the international anaesthetists, especially those who discussed the economic perspectives of healthcare.
“The presentations associating socio-economic factors to surgical outcomes were very informative and showed me how I can intersect my studies in health economics and my clinical specialty,” says Elizabeth.
Attending the conference also helped Elizabeth identify industry gaps and areas in need of improvement in PNG’s health sector.
“While at the conference, I examined the presentations showing smaller research projects conducted by early career researchers, and cultivated ideas about the likely research we can conduct within my region. Our current research projects being carried out by final year specialists in medical training could be tailored to investigate industry gaps and find innovative solutions to tackle them” explains Elizabeth.
On top of finding the conference incredibly beneficial in terms of professional development and networking, it helped solidify Elizabeth’s belief in “continuously cultivating skills to achieve developmental goals”.
She also feels she has evolved as a leader and discovered that, for her, true leadership in action is to “lead courageously; having a mission aligned with personal convictions and trusting her instincts”, and with a return to PNG on the horizon, she feels “very excited about the work ahead.”
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Through the WLI Leaders Hub, alumni of the Women’s Developmental Leadership Program like Elizabeth apply for and access workplace internships and professional development opportunities, including supported participation in international programs and conferences.