An Avatar for Nursing Education in Aotearoa New Zealand: Te Kaiako Tapuhi

In Aotearoa New Zealand and globally, tertiary education institutes delivering nursing education are facing challenges to recruit and retain sufficient numbers of nurse educators who match local population demographics and are representative of diverse communities. Building the workforce of Indigenous nurse educators must be a priority for Aotearoa and globally to advance health equity. This article argues a need to change perceptions of the identity of the nurse educator to recruit and retain a more culturally and gender diverse workforce in Aotearoa. Using writing as a method of inquiry, this research employed two writing modes—academic writing and fictionalised narratives—as deliberate strategies to explore the complexity of nursing education work. Interviews were conducted with 15 nurse educators working in polytechnic or university settings. Fictionalised narratives, based on the experiences of colleagues as interview participants, create an understanding of professional identity formation. The narratives as findings revealed the need for authentic role models and leaders who represent the gender and cultural diversity in Aotearoa society to address inequities in nursing education. This article shares the vision of an agentic avatar drawing on the Aotearoa context to embody the ‘ideal’ nurse educator. Adopting this vision may support the growth of Indigenous, gender and culturally diverse nurse educator workforces in other countries seeking to address inequities in nursing education. Te reo Māori translation He atamariko mō Aotearoa mō te akoranga tapuhi: Te Kaiako Tapuhi Ngā Ariā Matua Kei te tuku te huahua o ngā whare akoranga mātauranga matua i Aotearoa, otirā i te ao, i te akoranga tapuhi, me te tūpono ki ngā uauatanga o te tuku mahi, me te pupuru i ngā kaiako tapuhi taurite ngā āhuatanga taupori o tō rātou rohe, ka tū hoki hei whakakanohi i ōna momo hapori huhua. Me noho ko te whakapakari i te ohu kaimahi tapuhi Iwi Taketake hei mahi tuatahi mō Aotearoa, waihoki i te ao, hei kawe whakamua i te tautika hauora. Tā tēnei tuhinga he kauwhau tikanga e hurihia ai ngā whakaaro mō te tuakiri o te kaiako tapuhi, kia tuku mahi, kia pupuru hoki i tētahi ohu kaiako tapuhi whānui kē atu te kanorau ā-ahurea, ā-ira hoki o Aotearoa. Nā te whakamahi i te tuhituhi hei tikanga uiui, ka whakamahia e tēnei rangahau ētahi tikanga tuhi e rua—te tuhi ā-whare wānanga, me te tuhi pakimaero hei kōrero paki—hei rautaki i āta whāia hei tūhura i te matatini o ngā mahi whakaako tapuhi. I kawea he uiuinga ki ētahi kaiako tapuhi 15 e mahi ana i ngā whare takiura i ngā whare wānanga anō hoki. Nā ngā pakimaero kōrero paki, i takea mai i ngā wheako o ngā tāngata i uia, kua puta ake he māramatanga mō te ahunga tuakiri ngaio o te tangata. Nā aua pakimaero hei kitenga ka kitea te hiahia kia tū he kaiarataki i te ara mō ētahi atu, he kaihautū ka noho hei kanohi mō te kanorau ā-ira, ā-ahurea hoki o te porihanga o Aotearoa, hei whakatika i ngā korenga e ōrite o te akoranga tapuhi. Tā tēnei tuhinga he tāpae mai i te whakaaro mō tētahi atamariko arataki hei whakatinana i te akiako tapuhi “tino huatau” nā te titiro ki te horopaki o Aotearoa. Mā te hāpai pea i ēnei kitenga ka tautokona te tupunga o ētahi ohu kaimhi kaiako tapuhi kanorau ā-ira, ā-ahurea hoki i ētahi atu whenua o te ao, hei whakatutuki i ngā korenga e ōrite o te ao akoranga tapuhi.