Whitireia hosts Canadian nursing students and tutors

The Whitireia Faculty of Health has been hosting nine students and two tutors from the nursing programme at Camosun College in British Columbia, Canada.

The students and tutors have lived at the Whitireia campus in Porirua for the past five weeks and have spent time in the Faculty of Health’s simulation labs and on clinical placements at healthcare providers around the region.

Tutor Hazell Penn said she was inspired to bring the students to Whitireia after reading about the work of the Faculty of Health’s Dean Emeritus, Dr Margaret Southwick, who developed the Whitireia Bachelor of Nursing Māori and Bachelor of Nursing Pacific degrees. “We see many parallels between Canada and New Zealand in terms of issues affecting the health system,” said Penn.

Whitireia provided the Camosun College students with the full campus experience, welcoming them with a pōwhiri and issuing them with student IDs that gave them access to student facilities and services.

The students were also involved in an orientation that focused on building cultural safety and awareness ahead of their clinical placements. “Everybody’s been so supportive of us – it’s been amazing,” said second year student Rosie Angus. She noted that they had also formed close bonds with the Whitireia Bachelor of Nursing Pacific and Bachelor of Nursing Māori students.

Camosun College nursing tutor Renate Gibbs said they had begun the groundwork while here on an exchange that would see Whitireia students travel to Canada. She added that she was particularly impressed by the Whitireia learning facilities.

Second year student Caitlin Woo said a highlight for her was working on a placement at Ngāti Toa Rangatira’s Ora Toa health clinics. “The health workers there are so supportive,” she said. “The lengths they go to for their patients are incredible.” She added that it would be fantastic to see this kind of outreach programme established in Canada for the country’s indigenous First Nations communities.

The Camosun College students and tutors will be farewelled at the Whitireia Porirua campus this Friday.