M¯aori and Pasifika students learn to vaccinate people against Covid

Every time Sala Eastwood hears about the number of healthcare inequities Pacific people in New Zealand face, it drives her to be part of the solution.

Eastwood is in her final year of the bachelor of nursing (Pacific) at Whitireia.

Along with more than 40 other Ma¯ ori and Pasifika nursing students, she has taken part in training by the Immunisation Advisory Centre.

This means the student, from O¯ taki, will be able to vaccinate people against Covid-19 after she receives the paperwork. She has already put her hand up to help out at a Porirua clinic.

Eastwood, who is originally from Fiji, moved to New Zealand with her husband, who was diagnosed with bowel cancer a few years ago. That motivated her to start a nursing course in 2019.

‘‘I’m very grateful to have the opportunity to study nursing. And now that I find myself in my third year, it’s quite exciting,’’ Eastwood said.

She was especially excited to serve the Pasifika communities in New Zealand, she said. ‘‘I want to be out there and be part of the solution. You can just see the relief of having someone they can relate to,’’ Eastwood said, describing the reaction when Pasifika see a familiar face.

‘‘It’s a huge responsibility to look after people and have their trust – it’s a privilege. I’m honoured and humbled to have this opportunity.’’

Eastwood was excited about empowering her community to get vaccinated. ‘‘In a weird way, Covid-19 has been a blessing in disguise for nursing students as we are now getting these opportunities.’’

Whitireia’s head of Pacific nursing, Tania Mullane, said this training prepared student nurses for better employment opportunities.

Administering vaccines would allow the third-year nursing students to use their theoretical knowledge through clinical practice, said Siufofoga Matagi, a Pasifika engagement adviser at the Immunisation Advisory Centre.

‘‘They are actually championing fantastic change and have been catapulted forward, so they can expand their knowledge and be confident nurses,’’ Matagi said.

‘‘It’s a win-win situation, and they get to do this for their own Pasifika communities, which touches my heart.

‘‘In Samoa, we have a saying, ‘O le ala i le pule o le tautua,’ which means, ‘The pathway to leadership is through service.’ These students are becoming change agents themselves.’’

Whitireia Ma¯ ori nursing tutor Verna Whitford said the nursing students would help to educate their communities at the same time as themselves. ‘‘The a¯konga [students] are increasing their knowledges of vaccines, such as MMR, influenza, and Covid-19, as well as learning the clinical skills that sit alongside that.’’