New Nursing School Appointment

New Nursing School Appointment

A registered nurse with a PhD in history, Pamela Wood has joined EIT as an associate professor in the School of Nursing.

Dr Wood was most recently Associate Professor and Associate Dean Research in the Faculty of Health at Federation University Australia – formed in 2014 when the Monash University Gippsland campus merged with the University of Ballarat.

She brings her considerable experience in undergraduate and postgraduate health professional education in both Australia and New Zealand to the role at EIT. Previous positions have included associate professorships at the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Monash University and Victoria University’s Graduate School of Nursing, Midwifery and Health.

Extensively published and a regular presenter at conferences throughout Australasia and worldwide, Dr Wood’s two main platforms for research centre on the history of nursing, midwifery and health and community resilience.

She was recently involved in a collaborative study for the Department of Health in Victoria, Australia, which, over a period of at least 10 years, is examining the potential health effects of smoke on a nearby community from a coalmine fire that burnt for 45 days.

Born in south Auckland, she trained as a general and obstetric nurse at Middlemore Hospital, and then specialised in surgical nursing. Soon after taking a different pathway into community health education, she went into nursing education.

Subsequent academic study saw her gaining a Bachelor of Arts, a Diploma in Tertiary Teaching, a Master of Education with Distinction and a doctorate from the University of Otago.

Dr Wood is enjoying being back in her homeland and getting to know Hawke’s Bay.

“I hadn’t intended coming back to New Zealand, or at least I hadn’t made up my mind to do so,” she says. “Then, in this region a year ago, I felt the pull of the Hawke‘s Bay terrain. It’s interesting what a strong landscape can do.”

A familial connection to Hawke’s Bay extends back some generations. Four great grandparents settled here and one of her great grandfathers farmed in Waipawa, which is where her mother was born.

Dr Wood knew from her nursing networks that EIT’s programmes were well respected, as were its nurse graduates.

“I was here briefly in September, and it was clear then that EIT has an understanding of what it means to be a regional educational institution. That’s a really positive thing – it’s delivering a quality education to the community and knowing how best to deliver it.

“EIT understands the importance of engaging regionally.”

Her responsibilities will include supporting research in the school and supervision of postgraduate research. She will also be teaching a postgraduate course in primary health care while her teaching of undergraduate Year 3 students will centre on contemporary issues in nursing and health care.

ENDS

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