The team behind the new Puawānanga Tapuhi Māori (Bachelor of Nursing Māori) course at Northtec is doing things differently to build the much-needed nursing workforce for their region, said nursing lecturer Pipi Barton.
Northtec’s main campus is in Whangārei but the course will not be delivered from there. Instead, it will be taken to the Far North’s small rural settlement of Ngawhā, and will be delivered on a campus developed with Northtec and Ngāti Rangi hapū, Barton says.
“The course will not be delivered Monday to Friday most weeks of the year. Instead, it will be delivered in blocks during dates more convenient for students so they can better balance their studies with their whānau, tamariki and mahi commitments.
“We’ve decided to take this kaupapa to the people, to the students – where they live. We know that to get these students to graduation, we have to reduce economic barriers and go to them.
“So our lecturers will travel to the students in these rural areas to continue their learning through academic support, tutorials, assessments, clinical support and pastoral care.”
The holistic parts of the course have been inspired by the lived experiences of Māori ancestors from Te Tai Tokerau, says Barton.
“The Ngāpuhi Nursing Sisters are just one inspiration for us. Those wāhine defied all the odds to fight for their people, to travel long distances on horseback to tend to the sick in all those towns and areas where we will be delivering this course.”
At the turn of the 19th century, five Māori women from Ngāpuhi wanted to go and fight in the South African War of 1899 – 1902 with their fellow countrymen. But they were rejected and told to stay home, says Barton. They then turned their “warrior spirit” to nursing the sick in their own Māori communities.
“Health services were virtually non-existent at that time in Māori communities in the north and these women knew that, so they did something about it.”
Moe Milne, a respected nurse and kuia from Ngāti Hine, was another inspiration behind the course.
“Whaea Moe has had this dream for 18 years and I was honoured that she shared her knowledge and experiences with me, not just as a nurse but also as an expert in Hauora Māori.
“I was privileged to hold the pen while she spoke during all our meetings to design the aspects of the course relevant to our programme,” Barton says.
Work on the degree programme started four years ago under Te Pūkenga but got canned by the current Government last year, Barton says.
“The intention was to standardise all nursing programmes across all 13 nursing schools delivered at polytechnics throughout the country. The consultation process to develop the programmes had been huge, including, input from nurse educators across the country.”
Rather than bin the Puawānanga Tapuhi Maori programme, Te Pūkenga ended up gifting it to Northtec to deliver. There are 13 schools of nursing throughout the country – four of which have a Māori focus.
The course, which was only officialised last month by NZQA and New Zealand Nursing Council, did not get much marketing time but started yesterday with 30 students.
The ao Māori aspects of the programme, which include te reo Māori and matauranga Māori, will be taught by Matua Ross Smith (Te Rarawa, Te Aupouri, Ngāpuhi), a respected Māori knowledge expert from Te Tai Tokerau.
The anatomy and physiology elements of the course will be taught by nurse lecturer Ary Pitman (Ngāti Wai).
Two more nursing lecturers were to be appointed at the end of this month, Barton says.
“Māori health services throughout Tai Tokerau are totally behind this course, even Te Whatu Ora because they can see the need for more Māori nurses.”
Māori make up almost 19 per cent of this country’s population but only seven per cent of the nursing workforce.
Behind the programme’s name Puawānanga Tapuhi Māori o te Kotiu developed by Matua Ross Smith
The name Puawānanga comes from the clematis flower as seen here. Within that name is wānanga (Puawānanga) meaning to discuss and deliberate. Wānanga provides a fulsome, holistic view of all contributions to healing, both traditional (Māori) and contemporary (clinical).
Ko te puāwaitanga o te putiputi – The blossoming of the flower – the time has arrived where the seed has grown and blossomed into a flower – likened to ākonga who have successfully completed Puawānanga Tapuhi Māori (Bachelor of Nursing Māori) programme and applied for registration as a New Zealand registered Nurse.
Te Kotiu is the traditional name for Te Tai Tokerau.