Eight senior final-year medical students from Bond University in Queensland, Australia are in Solomon Islands for a six weeks internship program.
The students were welcomed by the Ministry of Health and Medical Services (MHMS), through the National Referral Hospital (NRH) on Monday, 13 October 2025.
The students spend two weeks at NRH and continued their clinical internship at Gizo Provincial Hospital and Helena Goldie Hospital in Munda Western Province for the remaining four weeks to complete their internship.
The students expressed their excitement and gratitude for the opportunity, describing the internship as a memorable experience to learn from Solomon Islands’ dedicated health workers and to gain insight into the local healthcare system.
They shared their eagerness to understand the challenges faced by health professionals in delivering care with limited resources and to witness firsthand the long and difficult journeys patients often undertake to access basic health services.
Since 2013, more than 300 final-year medical students from Bond University have completed clinical placements in the Solomon Islands, with additional cohorts expected in the coming years.
This initiative is a testament to the strong and ongoing Solomon Islands–Australia Health Partnership, which continues to strengthen the health workforce and improve service delivery through shared learning and collaboration.
Bond University and MHMS maintain a long-standing partnership, reaffirmed through an updated Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2023, which allows for six groups of students to complete an Internship each year.
The internship program is supported by the Australian Government’s New Colombo Plan, which provides students with the opportunity to deepen their understanding of the Solomon Islands’ healthcare system, engage in meaningful learning exchanges with local clinicians, and create lifelong memories and valuable professional experiences.
– MHMS
Lead photo caption: Michael Samani (DFAT Health Team Representative) first on the right, Barbara Pwaisiho (NRH Health Promotion Officer) second on the right and Frank Kade (Health Partnership Coordinator) last on the left with the Bond University students after the welcome and onboarding briefing at NRH Library.
