Unitec boosts men in health with scholarships

Unitec health science students to attend special ceremony to receive first ever New Zealand Men’s Health Trust Scholarships aimed at boosting numbers of men in health professions

An alarming lack of men entering the health professions has seen Unitec Institute of Technology and The New Zealand Men’s Health Trust team up to help increase numbers.

Five male Unitec students studying medical imaging and nursing will each be awarded a $5000 Wairakei Development Scholarship from the Trust at a special inaugural awards ceremony on Tuesday March 23 at Unitec's Waitakere campus.

The New Zealand Men's Health Trust (NZMHT), a not for profit organisation set up to seek the best and most effective ways to facilitate improvements in men's health, has been looking at ways to attract more men into the healthcare professions. One way of doing this is by supporting them with their training. As a result, the NZMHT has developed a targeted scholarship scheme with Unitec Institute of Technology to support men studying health sciences.

Wendy Horne, Executive Dean of Unitec’s Faculty of Social and Health Sciences says, “The health care workforce has traditionally been made up of high numbers of women and she hopes that with the support from the NZMHT more men will be encouraged to enter health sciences.”

“We weren’t seeing any increase in the relatively small numbers of men applying to study health sciences here at Unitec,” says Ms Horne. Numbers of men applying to medical schools is also down according to Ms Horne.

“One way to improve men's experiences with health services is by having more men train as health professionals and I commend the New Zealand Men’s Health Trust for donating these scholarships which will help to encourage more men into study in these fields,” she says.

Dr Graeme Washer from the NZMHT says, “Any strategies we can adopt to get more men into nursing and other health sciences will have a significant and positive impact on men’s health services in New Zealand.”

“New Zealand men have a lower life expectancy rate than women and the NZMHT is working to raise the life expectancy of men by increasing awareness of and knowledge about their health, by using available education and communication channels, he says.

The NZMHT supports a variety of organizations working with a primary focus on male issues; through supporting research, tertiary institutions and other medical organizations.

“We aim to identify and reduce the barriers, that are factors in men seeking early medical advice,” Dr Washer says.

The inaugural Wairakei Development Scholarships will be awarded in 2010 to five male students in the fields of Medical Imaging and Nursing at the awards ceremony at Unitec’s Waitakere campus at 4pm this Tuesday March 23.

The five recipients are as follows:
Julian Dods, a 41 year old from Henderson who is retraining as a nurse. He is currently in his first year of a Bachelor of Nursing degree at Unitec.
Carl Gilpin, a 50 year old from Avondale is the eldest recipient. He is also currently in his first year of a Bachelor of Nursing degree at Unitec.
James McMillan, a 22 year old from Mt Albert, is in his second year of a Bachelor of Health Science (Medical Imaging) at Unitec;
Phanuel Victor, a 19 year old from Mt Wellington, is in his second year of his Bachelor of Health Science (Medical Imaging) at Unitec;
Justin Wang, a 31 year old from Albany, is in his first year of his Bachelor of Health Science (Medical Imaging) at Unitec.
ENDS

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