Helping Māori nurses to help their communities

Pharmac | Te Pātaka Whaioranga presented awards to 15 nurses at the recent Indigenous Nurses Aotearoa Conference in Auckland to support their further study and professional development.

Pharmac’s Director Māori | Kaituruki Māori, Trevor Simpson, says the awards provide financial support to nurses so that they can advance their expertise and have an even greater impact in their communities.

“Māori nurses are indispensable in communities where their cultural understanding and health expertise can have a profound impact,” he says.

“Their skills can bridge the gap between traditional Māori values and modern health care, delivering clinically effective and culturally relevant care.”

Trevor Simpson presented the 2024 Tapuhi Kaitiaki awards across two categories:

• Nurse Practitioner / Nurse Prescribing. This award financially supports nurses who wish to complete additional study or develop their clinical practice in order to become nurse prescribers or practitioners. This year’s recipients were Jo Goodsir, Ani Tai, Rio Ferri, Catherine Mear, Rebecca James, and Racheal Smith.

• Mātauranga Māori Award. This is open to tāpuhi who wish to do further study in community-focused activities and develop innovative ways to assist whānau, hapū and iwi in accessing and understanding their medicines. The 2024 recipients were Shannyn Bristowe, Rangi Blackmoore-Tufi, Sophie Beca, Stacey Wharewera, Eve Larkins, Rosaline Hei Hei, Mahinaarangi Aiono, Senere Morrell, and Deni Tipene.

Pharmac established the awards in 2016 with Te Rūnanga o Aotearoa to acknowledge nurses' role as key influencers, advocates and positive role models for whānau.

“This is an important partnership for us because Māori nurses can connect with communities in vital ways,” says Trevor Simpson.

“For example, they can let communities know about medicine supply issues as well as the new medicines and medical devices we’re making available to help people manage their health care and stay well.”