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“Pacific Nurses: Contributing to the Economy of Care” was theme for the Pacific Nursing Section Symposium and AGM 2024, held in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland on 11 October and sponsored by Le Va.

The event brought together several generations of Pacific nurses and inspirational keynote speakers to network and share insights about the current and future state of healthcare in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Ben Tameifuna, Le Va’s cultural lead and senior manager for public health and disability, opened the day by honouring senior Pasifika nurses with a powerful challenge:

“One of the main priorities for Le Va is to build the capacity and capability of the Pacific public health workforce ensuring we are carrying on the legacy that is already there. Ask yourself what is your legacy?

“What would you like to be remembered for in nursing and what will you leave behind for the next generation of nurses? As the well-known quote goes, ‘What you leave behind is not what is written on your headstone, but what is woven into the lives of others.’”

Sir Collin Tukuitonga, Associate Dean Pacific at the Faculty of Medical & Health Sciences at the University of Auckland, and Paul Goulter, Chief Executive Officer of the New Zealand Nursing Organisation, shared valuable insights on leadership and the vital contributions Pacific nurses make to the healthcare sector in Aotearoa.

It was inspiring for our Pacific nurses to be in a room filled with their peers and to hear from those with more than 40 years of experience as well as aspiring nursing students, excited to enter the workforce.

Ana-Malie Poe said, “It really was an honour to be able to experience one of these Symposiums for Pacific Nurses as a student. I was so encouraged and felt so empowered to be surrounded by such amazing, strong Pacific Nurses… Thank you so much for encouraging us students to keep going and knowing we have the most amazing support behind us makes the journey so much more worthwhile, carrying on that legacy.”

Le Va was honoured to support this symposium in collaboration with the Tongan Nurses Association and the Pacific Nursing Section. We look forward to future collaboration in the public health space.

Inclusion, diversity and equity are the bedrock to strengthening collaborative relationships to achieve better health outcomes for all. Supporting the health care system to be culturally safe for Pasifika, our cultural competency training, Engaging Pasifika, is dedicated to ensuring our people feel respected and safe when they interact with the health system. Since 2010, more than 8,500 health and disability workers have completed our training.

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Supporting our non-Pasifika health workforce to enhance their cultural responsiveness is an essential means to improve quality and access to health and disability services. It is a blended learning programme which has both online and face-to-face components that help equip our non-Pasifika health workers with foundational cultural knowledge, the right attitude and skills to authentically engage with Pasifika.  A recent refresh of Engaging Pasifika was undertaken to reflect the organic evolution of the programme since inception and to help meet the demand. We are excited about these changes and we thank you for your patience while this was in progress. We are now ready for the New Dawn.

A total of 27 workshops were delivered across New Zealand.

Le Va is part of the Wise Group. Copyright ©2024