November 2013
MIT’s Bachelor of Nursing Pacific sees its first group of students complete the degree this year
The first group of students to complete the Manukau Institute of Technology’s (MIT) Bachelor of Nursing Pacific will be
graduating next year after three years of study.
The Manukau Institute of Technology established this degree three years ago to encourage more Pacific students to
venture into the nursing industry.
The programme was specifically designed to help reduce the health disparities of Pacific populations but is open to
students from all ethnic backgrounds and prepares them to become registered nurses who can work with patients from all
walks of life.
Alongside the standard nursing education, students of this programme learn about self-identity, Pacific worldviews and
Pacific health priorities to provide them with the ability to incorporate the values, identities and cultures of Pacific
people into their nursing practises.
Faculty of Nursing Dean Willem Fourie says “The Bachelor of Nursing Pacific is a unique qualification that is one of
only two in the country and was developed in partnership with Pacific stakeholders and health care providers in the
Auckland region.”
“A Pacific Advisory Group played a key role in the implementation of the degree which recently received a 5 year
accreditation by NZQA,” he says.
“It is a quality programme and we look forward to future nurse leaders who graduated from this programme.”
The youngest student to complete the course, 20-year-old Avikashni Ruta Nair says, “I feel incredibly blessed to be
among the first people to graduate from this degree. Meeting the women in my class who became my sisters throughout the
journey has definitely made doing this degree a highlight of my life.”
“It’s important to have diversity in the nursing industry because each culture has its own uniqueness. Cultural
awareness is really important as you need to recognise the different protocols and understandings of each culture,” she
says. “If you don’t have all those understandings you can’t deliver the care that’s needed for a full recovery.”
“When dealing with Pacific Island patients it is important not only to assess them medically but also holistically as
that is how many people from these cultures regard their illnesses.”
“The papers in this degree went so in-depth about cultural healing and it provided that extra knowledge to make us the
best nurses for our patients.”
Avikashni hopes to work in the mental health industry to help troubled pacific youth in the Counties Manukau area.
The Bachelor of Nursing Pacific graduates will have a completion ceremony at Nga Kete te Wananga marae on November 25 but will officially graduate with other Manukau Institute of Technology students in May 2014.
ENDS