PMA is a network of more than 7000 Pacific health professionals in New Zealand and across the Pacific region.
Smith had “a wealth of experience” in nursing and Pacific health, PMA’s latest newsletter says. Not only was he president of the Fiji Nurses Association NZ and a senior lecturer at the Aniva Pacific leadership programme, Smith sat on several boards and governance groups related to Pacific health, research and education — and was PMA’s longest-serving director.
‘We need to get into those spaces so we can be masters of our destiny.’
Smith — who is NZNO’s Pacific nursing section treasurer and 2015 NZNO award-winner for services to nursing — said it was nice that both he, and nursing, were being recognised by his medical peers.
After 40 years working in nursing, leadership and education, Smith said his main focus was now supporting more Pacific nurses into leadership and governance roles, which he believed would make the biggest difference to Pacific health.
“We work, but we do not govern [enough],” Smith told Kaitiaki. “I want to grow Pacific governance — because that’s where decisions are made that give direction to leaders. We need to get into those spaces so we can be masters of our destiny.”
Pacific people in New Zealand die, on average, almost 10 years earlier than non-Pacific and non-Māori (Māori die seven years earlier) as well as higher rates of chronic illnesses such as type-2 diabetes.
‘We are often told to stay in our lane — but where is our lane?’
Smith, who is director of nursing Pacific at Te Toka Tumai, Auckland Hospital, said there was much work to do to strengthen the Pacific nursing and health workforce — including stepping up into leadership for truly long-lasting change.
“We are often told to stay in our lane — but where is our lane?” Smith said. “There is no lane for nurses — and we need to claim that space.”
Just over three per cent of nurses in New Zealand identify as Pacific, compared to a general population of nine per cent.
Smith also spoke at the recent NZNO colleges and section forum, where he said Pacific nurses needed more support to expand their scope and step into leadership.
After 25 years, there were just 12 nurse practitioners (NPs) of Pacific descent in New Zealand — and just one of seven who completed a PhD last year went on to become an NP.
The Pacific nurses section planned to work closely with the national NP training programme to support more Pacific NPs, said Smith, who is Fijian.
Smith was awarded lifetime PMA membership in 2022, however the announcement was delayed amid the pressures of COVID-19 on the Pacific workforce, he said.