Hauora Māori Pānui: December 2025
Kei āku nui, kei āku rahi, tēnā koutou katoa.
Ki a koutou, ngā tangata o tēnei kāreti, nāia te mihi ki a koutou, mō tō koutou whakapau kaha i tēnei wā.
Tuia ki runga
Tuia ki raro
Tuia ki waho
Tuia ki roto
Tuia ki te whai ao ki te ao mārama
Mauri ora!
I hope this finds you all well. I write this just as the fourth EGM comes to a close. This has been an uncertain time in the College. I want to reiterate that the mahi of the Māori Health Committee and the Hauora Māori team continues.
Some of our key achievements include:
- making gains with our Lead Fellow and registrar initiative, including integrating the registrar role into a Te Whatu Ora position
- the creation and appointment of a Tumuaki Māori | Head of Māori and Equity
- our ongoing work on the Māori trainee journey
- delivering a Māori trainee wānanga in Wellington
- progressing work as we develop an Indigenous Curriculum
- supporting the implementation of the recommendations from the Paediatrics and Child Health Divisional Clinical Exam Review
We are looking forward to a great 2026 with plenty more to do and to assist our hapori. As we wind down, I hope you all have a great Christmas and New Year. See you in 2026.
Mauri ora
Dr Matt Wheeler
RACP Māori Health Committee Chair
Hauora Māori Team end-of-year reflections
The Hauora Māori team works closely with the Māori Health Committee to advance Māori health equity and strengthen the Māori physician workforce. We thought it was a timely opportunity to reflect on our successes over the past year and to share the upcoming mahi we are most excited about – work that directly impacts you, our members. The following updates highlight the mahi of our individual team members and the impact of their work.
Something I am proud of this year
We’ve advanced the Trainee Journey Pathway, supported the Māori Health Committee, and progressed the Māori Health Registrar role to make it more accessible and seamless. A huge thank you to our members who generously shared their views and voices to shape these initiatives.
Something I am excited to work on next year
I look forward to providing more targeted support for trainees, leading events such as the wānanga, developing the prevocational space, and strengthening pathways to ensure equitable access, engagement, and opportunities for all Māori trainees.
Something I am proud of this year
I am proud of the work I have done with members to facilitate trainee access to a range of activities that support professional development and cultural wellbeing activities. It was great to be part of the team working to establish the inaugural Pacific Peoples Members Advisory Group (PPMAG). I also enjoyed working alongside an Indigenous-led working group to complete a suite of resources to strengthen culturally safe practice in supervision.
Something I am excited to work on next year
I look forward to implementing initiatives to strengthen the trainee journey, including proposed updates to the Indigenous Health Scholarships Program. I also look forward to supporting the strategic priorities of the Pacific Peoples Member Advisory Group.
Something I am proud of this year
We made meaningful progress in advancing hauora Māori and workforce development. Key achievements include implementing a new leadership structure, integrating diverse perspectives across governance, training, and College systems, and working towards to developing the Hauora Māori Workforce Plan.
We have also built the papa (foundation) grounded in self-determination and tino rangatiratanga, through Māori governance, for Māori, by Māori, moving beyond reviewing initiatives towards Māori health outcomes to actively leading and developing them.
Finally, I am proud of the privilege I received to attend the World Indigenous Peoples’ Education Conference this year. It gave me the reflection time to reset and remember the purpose of the mahi. I am reminded of the path paved before us and the heavy lifting of our tūpuna, and the heavy lifting we must do now. While our mokopuna will have duties of their own, it is my hope that the effort we put in today will ease their workload in the future. Our mokopuna will inherit the medicine we leave, not the wounds.
Something I am excited to work on next year
As we move into the new year, I feel excited, challenged, and a little anxious about how we can further develop the hauora Māori space. I’m considering the creation of an entity, rather than a person or a team, to carry this mahi forward into the future. My aspiration is to embed this space so that it is not defined by who holds the roles, but by a Māori collective committed to hauora Māori outcomes for RACP.
I want us to shift our mindset from focusing solely on service to our members, to prioritising service to our communities and whānau. This should become a strategic pou for our team and our College. If our hapori and whānau are flourishing, I believe our physicians will too.
I feel proud to support the Rautaki for the Māori Health Committee as we work to finalise this in the new year. Workforce development remains a key focus, and the creation of a Māori and Pacific Pathway will be critical. While more Māori and Pacific students are entering medical school, we are not seeing them transition into our College and RACP training. This challenge must be at the forefront of our thinking as we move forward.
Something I am proud of this year
This year, we strengthened the trainee journey for Māori members, launching Ki Uta Ki Tai, our Māori Trainee Journey map, the Māori Mentoring Program, the second Māori Trainee Wānanga, and the first-ever prevocational webinar. Engaging with medical students and prevocational doctors has been inspiring.
Something I am excited to work on next year
I aim to continue strengthening mentoring and trainee support, explore new engagement opportunities, and use insights from wānanga and webinars to enhance trainee experiences towards Fellowship.
Something I am proud of this year
Kua aro aku mahi ki te whakawhanaungatanga ka tahi, ka rua ko te whakapakari i te haumaru ahurea, me te whakaū i tētahi āhua Hauora Māori ki ngā hōtaka matua. Ko ētahi o ngā tino mahi ko te momo penei i te Rangahau Āhuatanga Haumaru Ahurea, hei aromatawai i te māia me te pūkenga o ngā kaimahi, ko te tautoko i te arotake o te hōtaka SPDP ano hoki. Ka mutu, ko te whakarite kia ū ngā mātāpono o te ōritetanga me te haumaru ahurea.
My work has focused on building relationships, strengthening cultural safety, and embedding a Hauora Māori lens across key programmes. Highlights include the Cultural Safety Environmental Scan Survey to assess staff confidence and capability, supporting the SPDP programme review, and ensuring equity and cultural safety principles are embedded.
Something I am excited to work on next year
E hiahia ana au ki te kōkiri tonu i nga mahi arotake o te SPDP, te whakahou i te pukapuka CPD, me te whakatinana i ngā tūtohutanga o te rangahau haumaru ahurea hei whakapakari ake i ngā wheako haumaru ahurea mō ngā mema.
I look forward to progressing the SPDP review, revising the CPD handbook, and implementing recommendations from the cultural safety survey to strengthen culturally safe experiences for members.
Something I am proud of this year
A key achievement has been completing the Indigenous Health Curriculum Scope Report, which provides the evidence base for our move toward an Indigenous Health Curriculum. This reflects the aspirations shared by the Māori Health Committee and ensures alignment on purpose and direction. The College’s support in 2026 allows us to recruit Indigenous members for the Indigenous Health Curriculum Expert Advisory Group, including academics and community representatives, to help shape the curriculum framework.
Something I am excited to work on next year
I’m excited for the Expert Advisory Group to meet and begin the creation phase of the curriculum, a meaningful step beyond my day-to-day work.
Something I am proud of this year
I’m proud of the work I’ve done alongside Dawn to strengthen our Māori Health Committee induction process, ensuring new members feel welcomed, informed, and supported from the outset. I’ve also focused on providing consistent and effective support to the committee, ensuring they have the information, resources, and guidance needed to carry out their roles confidently.
Something I am excited to work on next year
I’m most excited about organising our Māori Health Hui, a cross-College event bringing together Māori caucus representatives from various Colleges for a one-day wānanga in mid-2026. More details will be available in the new year.
Have a question for the RACP Hauora Māori team?
We're here to support you. Please contact us if you need assistance by emailing us on: hauoramaori@racp.org.nz
Dr Liza Edmonds will be running a mock Paediatrics and Child Health Medicine Divisional Clinical Examination for Māori and Pacific trainees in April 2026. If you’re interested in finding out more, please get in touch with our team by emailing hauoramaori@racp.org.nz. Once dates are confirmed, we’ll share further details with all Basic Trainees.
Would you like help to meet the research project requirements of your Advanced Training? A two-day intensive research methods short course on Foundations in Clinical Research and Critical Evaluation is being offered at the School of Medicine, Waipapa Taumata Rau | University of Auckland. The course provides a comprehensive introduction to clinical research and critical evaluation. Attendance can be reimbursed using CME.
Upcoming sessions:
- In-person session: Thursday, 12 February 2026 and Friday, 13 February 2026 from 9am to 5pm
Registration closes on Friday, 30 January 2026 at 6pm
- Online (lecture recordings): available from Monday, 16 March 2026 to Friday,15 May 2026
Registration closes on Monday, 2 March 2026 at 6pm
Find out more
Adding your cultural background in MyRACP is important. This voluntary step supports our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion principles reinforced through the Paediatrics and Child Health Division Exam Review. Your input helps us identify and address barriers faced by under-represented members and ensure our programs, assessments, and support structures reflect the communities we serve.
We will capture, aggregate, and report this data to the membership to promote transparency and progress. To update your details, visit your MyRACP portal and select 'update ethnicity'.
For more information, please refer to the Diversity Data Collection Statement.
Access MyRACP
We’re pleased to share that the second Pacific Trainees' Day will be held on Friday, 24 April 2026 at the RACP Wellington Office. Pacific members are warmly invited to save the date in your calendars. Further details, including registration information, will be provided in the new year.
The next Pacific Region Indigenous Doctors Congress (PRIDoC) is taking place from Monday, 30 November to Friday, 4 December 2026 in Taiwan.
The congress brings together the foremost Indigenous doctors’ member organisations from across the Pacific, including AIDA, Ahahui o nā Kauka, Association of American Indian Physicians, Indigenous Physicians Association of Canada, Medical Association for Indigenous People of Taiwan, and Te Ohu Rata O Aotearoa.
Do you need someone to talk to?
As healthcare workers who dedicate our lives to helping others, it’s important to take the time to care for ourselves. We would like to remind everyone that it's okay to not be okay. If you need someone to talk to, you can reach out to the RACP Support Program. It's a free, 24/7 and completely confidential support service that is delivered externally through Converge International.
Whether you have something worrying on your mind, are finding getting out of bed to be a struggle, or just feel like talking to someone for helpful, judgement-free advice, this free support service may be just what you need.
Make an appointment or speak directly with a Converge consultant on 0800 666 367
Any information you give to Converge is completely confidential between you and your consultant.