Maori nurses needed

Christchurch nursing student Kressy Bryant, a Pegasus Health Maori Scholarship winner, grew up surrounded by health workers.

While it took her some time to commit to both her own nursing training and her Maori heritage, she has never looked back.

Her mother was a nurse, a neighbour was a nurse and her father is an environmental health officer.

However, it took a frustrating stint working in a low-functioning dementia unit for Bryant to take the leap into nurse training.

"We had a very high turnover of registered nurses, and each one would give us a different set of instructions and belittle the previous nurse's work. I got really sick of it and thought the only way to really find out what is right is to become one,'' she said.

Bryant only recently embraced her Nga Mahanga Otiri and Te Ati Awa heritage, brought up, as she was, in a European family.

"My mother is Maori, but was adopted at birth. When I finally met her birth family, I felt at home for the first time - ever.''

Just two years into her nursing training, Bryant said just 80 of her original class of 130 remained, and there was only a handful of Maori students.

"Of those, just three 'look' Maori. There are a few others who identify as being 1/35th Maori, that kind of thing, but so few who would put their hand up and say they're Maori.''

Part of that, Bryant said, was the fear that not having te reo skills somehow reduced them in terms of their Maori heritage.

"I was quite iffy about even applying for the scholarship at first because I don't speak Maori and, therefore, don't feel 100 per cent Maori,'' she said.

"Another girl I encouraged to apply said she felt like it was wrong; like she was abusing the system, because she had been labelled as a plastic Maori in the past by other Maori for her lack of knowledge about her heritage.''

Bryant said it was time to move on from the idea that a person needed to live and breathe it in order to take pride in their heritage.

"We need to accept that there is a broader range of people who identify as Maori, beyond those who speak the language. The health system so desperately needs Maori health professionals.''

Bryant said the scholarship money would make all the difference to her studies - and and her life.

Article from www.stuff.co.nz