Words hit home for trainee doctor

Courtney Sullivan was a trainee doctor working in Gisborne when she helped an older Ma¯ori couple in hospital.

But when she asked if they had any questions, their reply brought tears to her eyes.

‘‘We are so proud of you,’’ the couple said. ‘‘This is the first time we have seen a Ma¯ori doctor.’’

That experience hit home, Sullivan said. ‘‘I was taken back and a bit teary-eyed.’’

Sullivan (Nga¯ti Awa, Taranaki, Nga¯ti Maru) is one of 105 Ma¯ori health professionals set to graduate from the University of Otago, the largest ever cohort and a proportion that mirrors the wider population demographic.

‘‘We are quite a tight bunch, and we try and help each other out.’’

Sullivan had her first stint as an Otago student in 2004, originally hoping to make it into medical school but it did not quite work out.

Instead, she studied for a science degree, as well as studying for a bachelor of arts with honours, majoring in Ma¯ori.

Sullivan, 36, grew up in Whakata¯ne at a house where te reo Ma¯ori was spoken.

She told The Press she always wanted to study at Otago, it being so far from home proving both ‘‘daunting and thrilling at the same time’’.

What she was not prepared for was the culture shock of suddenly being a student in Dunedin. ‘‘It is very white . . . and it is very cold,’’ she said.

After graduating and a period of work she decided to try again for medical school.

‘‘I gave it a crack and got in.’’ Being older than first time round meant she was better prepared, as she knew how to access the services and networks that could help her to succeed.

For Sullivan, it was more than just wanting to use her medical degree.

‘‘I want to use my language and my face to help people to feel a little bit more comfortable in that space.’’

During her medical studies she worked in Dunedin, Christchurch, Timaru, Dannevirke, Palmerston North and Gisborne.

She would tell patients that she was at medical school and they would sometimes congratulate her on being a nursing student or a midwife.

‘‘You just grin and bear it.’’ Next year, she begins her career in Rotorua and is considering a future career in an emergency department at a smaller hospital.

She recalled a cousin once saying her medical journey was ‘‘unattainable’’.

‘‘There is a kind of fixed idea that we are lesser than the next person.

‘‘But our lived experiences definitely put us in good stead to help, especially those most vulnerable in our communities.’’