MIT Nursing graduates among first to be vaccinated in Aotearoa
Rebecca Nielsen, a nurse based in south Auckland, and her work colleague and friend Tracy Peterson, were in the first group nationally to be vaccinated and to be vaccinators at the MIQ in South Auckland.
Both wahine toa are Manukau Institute of Technology School of Nursing 2019 graduates and now work for Turuki Health Care, based in Māngere.
The pair, who were vaccinated three weeks ago, spoke to MIT’s Comms Team to discuss their work experience so far and how they will continue to contribute to the roll out of the vaccination programme later this year.
“My main issue is protecting my friends and whānau – they mean the world to me. And if I had declined, I would have felt like I’m not doing all that I can do,” says Rebecca.
Tracy, who studied Bachelor of Nursing - Pacific, also took the time to do her own research into how the vaccine worked. “I was happy with the science-based evidence that was provided. This was for my mokopuna and my whānau. I feel like I’ve done my part.”
Turuki Health Care has over 20 years’ experience delivering whānau-based health, wellness and social services to people in the area. Earlier this year, the pair were both busy making sure the clinic was seeing to its most vulnerable patients, when Tracy was asked to join her manager for a meeting at JetPark, with the increasing possibility that vaccinations would start there.
The pair are both greatly concerned to see how the south Auckland community has been treated in this latest COVID-19 community outbreak.
They both feel south Auckland needs to be given priority for the New Zealand COVID-19 vaccination programme.
“That is where the majority of our frontline workers live,” says Tracy. “They work in and around the airport. We have big whānau, and our household bubbles are big as well.”
Rebecca describes herself as a south Auckland girl at heart – “I’m born and raised in Manurewa and went to Alfriston College.”
Turuki Health Care was the first job she took after studying at MIT. “At first, I thought it’s been years since I’ve even done an interview, I’ll use this as a practice,” she says. “But I ended up really loving it and made lots of connections just through that one interview alone. It was just down the road; it was good hours for bringing up young children. So I took it.”
Although the pair studied different specialties in their degrees, they both loved their time at MIT.
Rebecca found her study really supportive for her nursing journey, but definitely challenging - “I found that as long as you were able to ask for help, help was given.”
“I studied in the Pacific programme, which had a smaller intake, only one group a year,” describes Tracy.
“It was only about 40 people, and for me, it was about being able to connect with other people and that one-on-one time with your lecturers. They became your family and I don’t think I would have gotten through my degree if I had gone down the mainstream version because we needed that kind of support.”
MIT Nursing graduates are working in a variety of roles supporting the fight against COVID-19, in both inpatient and community environments.
“This is achieved through health education and health promotion to individuals, their whānau and wider community,” says Head of Nursing, Assoc Prof Deborah Rowe.
“Our graduates gain evidence-based knowledge enabling them to communicate key information about pandemics, the immune system, prevention strategies and the importance of vaccination to support community protection,” she says.
Bachelor of Nursing – Maaori and Bachelor of Nursing – Pacific embed cultural viewpoints and knowledge in healthcare so our graduates can better support outcomes for these communities.
Many of our students are from these backgrounds and see themselves as the change that’s needed in the health sector to make a real difference for south Auckland.
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