Brief History
The School of Medicine and Health Sciences traces its origins to the 1930s during the Australian Administration of Papua New Guinea.
The institution's origins trace back to the 1930s during Australian Administration. "The first twelve Papuans were sent, in 1933, to Sydney to learn about the structure of the human body." The Papuan Medical College was formally established at Taurama in 1960 as the initial health workforce training facility in the Territory of Papua and New Guinea.
The college initially prepared multiple categories of health professionals, including physicians, nurses, medical assistants, and other allied health workers. Following Papua New Guinea's development, the institution became affiliated with the university system in the early 1970s. "The Papuan Medical College then became the Faculty of Medicine of The University of Papua New Guinea in 1971-1972."
Organizational changes continued through subsequent decades. A Faculty of Health Sciences emerged in the early 1990s, and "with the decline in government funding in the late 1990s, the Faculty of Medicine and Faculty of Health Sciences were amalgamated." The restructuring concluded with "the establishment of the School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS)" in January 2001.
The institution commemorated its golden jubilee in 2010, marking fifty years since the Papuan Medical College's founding. Currently, the school operates multiple divisions covering clinical sciences, basic medical sciences, pathology, public health, dentistry, nursing, and health sciences, including pharmacy and medical imaging specialties.