Solomon Islands First Oral Surgeon

Solomon Islands First Oral Surgeon

 

Solomon Islands for the first time has recorded its first Oral Surgeon, 36 years old Dr Grace Mali Mamupio who hails from the Dunde Village, Munda and New Jella, North New Georgia Western Province.

Ms Mamupio is currently working as an Oral Surgery Senior Registrar at the National Referral Hospital (NRH), Oral Surgery Unit, Dental Department. She has been with the National Dental Team since 2013 until present and has worked as supervising Chief Dental Officer in Western Province, and was actively involved in primary and secondary health care committees and task forces at the provincial level.

Dr Mamupio graduated with Bachelor in Dental Surgery from the Fiji School of Medicine in (2008-2012) under the Solomon Islands Government Scholarship (SIG). In 2020-2021 she obtained her Post Graduate Diploma in Oral Surgery, and in 2022-2024 obtained a Master in Oral Surgery under the Australia Awards Pacific Scholarship (AAPS). In 2022 she attained her Micro-credential Certificate in Practices in Oral Pathology and Oral Medicine at Fiji National University. She successfully completed her Masters Oral Surgery recently in 2024 with high recognition from FNU.

With honors as the first Oral Surgeon, Dr Mamupio said it is an overwhelming feeling and achievement, and she is truly humbled and blessed to have been given this opportunity to reach this level of academia and professional attainment and to be taught and trained in one of the prestigious medical institutions in the pacific region.

“Being the first female oral surgeon is not only a personal achievement but an achievement that resulted from the endless support of a community of family, loved ones, friends and professional colleagues whom deserve my gratitude for continuously believing in me in this journey”, said Dr Mamupio.

Ms Mamupio says her journey as a female dental surgeon in a male dominated field came with its challenges, especially in a strong cultural-setting environment, however, this has slowly been dying out as more people are aware of the negative effects of gender sensitive issues especially in the field of health surgical services.

She added in the Pacific Region, including the Solomon Islands, more females are trained and actively involved in male dominated fields of work and so this has enabled females to pursue and persevere in other professional fields.

“As I resume my duties, I will still work under professional supervision of other related specialists in Surgery and colleagues with experience in this field and am hoping to make use good of this opportunity and experience as I start off this career”, said Dr Mamupio.

She further added the achievement of being the first female oral surgeon involved a lot of sacrifices and patience. She adds anyone can pursue this pathway with strong perseverance, and a good support system.

“I am truly blessed to be one of the female trailblazers in the field of Oral Surgeon and I would like to encourage other aspiring female professionals in our country that nothing is impossible if you have faith and believe in yourself and fully utilize your potentials, you can accomplish anything”, Dr Mamupio said.

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