Curriculum Highlight:

Required elective in Samoa provides stellar learning opportunity

As OUM students progress into the clinical curriculum, they must complete 72 weeks of clinical training – 56 weeks of core rotations and 16 weeks of elective rotations. A graduation requirement is to complete one of those rotations in a four-week elective at OUM’s primary teaching facility, Tupua Tamasese Meaole Hospital (TTM) in Samoa.

Construction on TTM was completed in December 2014, and it is the only hospital in Samoa with the facilities and scope to teach Medicine. It provides primary, secondary, and tertiary care in a wide range of medical and surgical specialties, as well as in its outpatient clinics.

The University’s clinical training program in Samoa is directed by Clinical Associate Professor Viali Lameko, MBBS, MIPH, PhD Candidate and Dean for Samoa and the Asia Pacific.

OUM Class of 2018 graduate, Marika Stubbs, MD says, “The rotation I did in Samoa was the best thing I’ve ever done. You see things and treat things you will likely never see again. It is a unique environment that offers amazing hands-on experience that will help you with all of your other rotations.”

As students plan their electives, they are directed to contact their Regional Dean who will contact the OUM staff at TTM regarding rotation availability. The staff also assists students in finding accommodations, securing their visas, learning the local culture and customs, and shopping for all the items necessary for making their stay comfortable and productive.

(December 2022)