Nurturing and Growing the Maori Workforce

Some of the opportunities are: 

• National Counsel of Māori Nurses – Waitematā Branch. This forum meets every month at the Waitakere Hospital Marae. This is the National Professional body that addresses issues that the Māori nurses are facing (Local, Regional and National). It provides a networking opportunity with other Māori nurses including senior Māori Nurse Leaders.

• Ngā Manukura o Apopo – National Māori Leadership Education Training for all Māori Health professionals which provides leadership training for Māori Nurses in a “by-Māori-for-Māori” model.

• Designated Māori clinical nurse specialist roles: The Māori Clinical Nurse Specialist roles in Diabetes, Gerontology and Cancer serve a dual purpose: firstly as a pathway to develop Māori nurses in to clinical specialist roles, and secondly to respond to the need for health service delivery in key areas that better meets the needs of Māori people using those services.

• Waitematā DHB Health Scholarship programme: Established in 2011 for Māori and/or Pacifica people within the Waitematā DHB region, this scholarship provides financial support, priority placements, networking and facilitated employment for undergraduate students in selected health disciplines such as nursing, midwifery, medicine, physiotherapy, dietetics and more.

• Te Kaunihera Kaumatua: Reporting to the Chief Advisor Tikanga, this select group of esteemed elders oversees matters of Māori cultural significance across Waitematā DHB and Auckland DHB.

• MALT – Māori Advisory Leadership Team is the governance group overseeing the implementation of the joint Waitematā DHB and Auckland DHB Māori Health Workforce Development Strategy. Chaired by the Waitematā DHB CEO Dr Dale Bramley, the team works on innovation and improvement projects each year, and reports against Māori workforce targets.

• Nga Poumana - Supporting Māori Allied Health professionals

• Triple A - The AAA programme developed and tested New Zealand’s first Māori-specific Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA) screening programme, in partnership with mana whenua. It was entered into the IPANZ award. The Waitematā AAA Screening Pilot for Māori, Waitematā District Health Board was a finalist in Crown – Māori Relationships category. The programme applied rigorous health needs analysis methods with a specific focus on reducing ethnic health inequalities. It resulted in a 78% participation rate, provided a 183% return on investment, and prevented five AAA-related deaths.

Māori Cultural Celebrations
Annual Mataariki – Māori New Year – June each year
Te Wiki o te Reo Māori - Māori Language Week – September each year
Waitangi Day - named after Waitangi where the Treaty of Waitangi was first signed – 6 February
Ngapuhi Festival - Northland's largest free music, cultural, performance and arts & crafts festival – Jan each year

Key Maori Leaders: