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Indigenous Health Workforce Development: challenges and successes of the Vision 20:20 programme
Author(s) -
Curtis Elana,
Reid Papaarangi
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
anz journal of surgery
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.426
H-Index - 70
eISSN - 1445-2197
pISSN - 1445-1433
DOI - 10.1111/ans.12030
Subject(s) - workforce , indigenous , medicine , ethnic group , workforce development , economic shortage , health equity , medical education , psychological intervention , political science , nursing , government (linguistics) , public health , ecology , linguistics , philosophy , law , biology
Abstract Background There are significant health workforce inequities that exist internationally. The shortage of indigenous health professionals within A ustralia and N ew Z ealand requires action across multiple sectors, including health and education. This article outlines the successes and challenges of the U niversity of A uckland's Vision 20:20 programme, which aims to improve indigenous M āori and P acific health workforce development via recruitment, bridging/foundation and tertiary retention support interventions within the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences ( FMHS ). Methods Seven years of student data (2005–2011) are presented for undergraduate Student Pass Rate ( SPR ) by ethnicity and Certificate in Health Sciences ( C ert HSc ) SPR , enrolments and completions by ethnicity. Four key areas of development are described: (i) student selection and pathway planning; (ii) foundation programme refinement; (iii) academic/pastoral support; and (iv) re‐development of the indigenous recruitment model. Results Key programme developments have had a positive impact on basic student data outcomes. The FMHS undergraduate SPR increased from 89% in 2005 to 94% in 2011 for M āori and from 81% in 2005 to 87% in 2011 for P acific. The C ert HSc SPR increased from 52% in 2005 to 92% in 2011 with a greater proportion of M āori and P acific enrolments achieving completion over time (18–76% for M āori and 29–74% for P acific). Conclusion Tertiary institutions have the potential to make an important contribution to indigenous health workforce development. Key challenges remain including secondary school feeder issues, equity funding, programme evaluation, post‐tertiary specialist workforce development and retention in A otearoa, N ew Z ealand.