Northland nurse and academic Dr Pipi Barton has been
awarded the 2026 Te Akenehi Hei Memorial Award celebrating
nurse leadership.
This prestigious title is awarded
only every two years. It is the highest honour that can be
given by Te Rūnanga o Aotearoa representing Tōpūtanga
Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa NZNO’s Māori members. The Award
is named after Akenehi Hei, the first Māori nurse and
midwife to register under her own name rather than the name
‘Agnes’ given to her by her Pākehā
employers.
Te Akenehi Hei Memorial Award recipient Pipi Barton, right,
pictured with previous recipient Dhyanne Hohepa, left, and
Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa NZNO Kaiwhakahaere
Kerri Nuku. Photo credit: Naera Ohia
(Photo/Supplied)
Dr Barton
(Ngāti Puhiawe, Ngāti Horotakere, Ngāti Hikairo ki
Kāwhia) was presented with the taonga at the Indigenous
Nurses Aotearoa Conference held at Māhurehure Marae in
Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland) earlier this month.
Since
becoming a registered nurse in 1991, Dr Barton has made it
her career mission to advocate for Māori nurses as both
tauira (students) and in the workforce.
In her
acceptance speech, Dr Barton acknowledged her tīpuna Māori
and tapuhi Māori saying she stands for them. “This award
carries the ingoa of Akenehi Hei. As Māori nurses we stand
on the shoulders of those who stood before us, and I have
spent much of my career advocating for Māori nurses. There
have been many who have walked along beside me and
supporting me along the way,” Dr Barton says.
Advertisement – scroll to continue reading
The
findings of her doctorate research supported the
establishment of NorthTec’s Puawānanga Tapuhi Māori
(Bachelor of Nursing Māori) programme. One of only four
Māori nursing programmes and the only one to be based in a
rural setting in the Māori community of Ngāwha, near
Kaikohe.
The Māori nursing programme officially
launched last year, and the first cohort is due to graduate
next year.
Dr Barton’s masters and doctorate research
focused on Māori health and Māori nursing. It examined how
the Māori nursing workforce has remained static at 7% for
the past 40 years despite Māori making up 17.5% of the
population.
“Our programme is a response to that to
try and grow the Māori workforce and particularly the rural
Māori nursing workforce,” Dr Barton says.
“My
research identified that Māori students and nurses really
struggle in mainstream Bachelor of Nursing programmes and
that there is a need for more Māori nursing programmes. I’m
currently doing research to determine whether Māori
programmes increase Māori retention and completion of
Bachelor of Nursing
programmes.”
© Scoop Media
Discussion about this post