PIRSSU Newsletter Nov2011

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November 2011 Pacific Islands Research & Student Support Unit Newsletter providing support for students. The Division works collaboratively with the Pacific Islands Centre, Students Learning Centre and other internal and external groups to ensure students are able to achieve their goals at University. The Exec for 2012 have been elected (see page 3 for details). Happiness is not a state to arrive at, but a manner of travelling. Margaret Lee Runbeck Dare to be wise…Dare to Dream….Dare to Care!! Office Dropins and Appointments Students are welcome to dropby the office without an appointment. If you wish to see the Associate Dean Pacific or a particular staff member, we encourage students to make an appointment (contact details on pg 3). Acknowledgements We would like to extend our sincere gratitude to the Pro ViceChancellor, Deans and leaders in the Division for support provided for Pacific Students and Staff in the Division. We acknowlegde also the Pacific Islands Centre, other University internal and external support groups, including the important role of families and communities. Warm Pacific greetings to you all, Welcome to the biannual newsletter from the Pacific Unit in the Division of Health Sciences, University of Otago. This is contains events for, and information about Pacific students, PIHPSA Alumni, staff and developments within the Division of Health Sciences. Pacific students include those studying Medicine, Physiotherapy, Dentistry, Pharmacy, Radiation Therapy, the Medical Sciences and Medical Laboratory Science. 2011 has been a year of growth for PIRSSU and the Division of Health Sciences in terms of support and programmes for Pacific students. This year has seen the start of the POPO Programme providing targeted support to Health Sciences First Year students. Another first was the Pacific Health Research Development Day run in collaboration with the Health Research Council. PIRSSU assists in the recruitment, retention and support of Pacific students in the Division of Health Sciences. Our research focuses on how to increase the academic achievement and recruitment of students and assess the effectiveness of current support programmes. The Unit has a small team which assists also in the coordination of support programmes for students. PIHPSA is an excellent student organisation in the Division. It works collaboratively with PIRSSU in PIRSSU Welcome Divsion of Health Sciences Warm Pacific Greetings Ni sa bula vinaka Malo e lelei Kia Orana Talofa lava Fakalofa lahi atu Kam na mauri Halo olaketa Ia orana Taloha ni Namaste Kaise ‘Alii Wantok Halo Aloha mai e University of Otago In this Newsletter: Message from the P2 Message from the 2012 PIHPSA President P2 PIHPSA Executive Body 2012 P3 Upcoming Events P4 PIHPSA vs. PILSA Debate P6 Graduate Profile: Oka Sanerivi P7 Scholarship Information P8 Health Sciences Fono Reports P10 11 Pacific Strategic Framework Goals P12 PIRSSU Contact Details P12

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PIRSSU Newsletter, Division of Health Sciences, University of Otago

Transcript of PIRSSU Newsletter Nov2011

Page 1: PIRSSU Newsletter Nov2011

November 2011

Pacific Islands Research & Student Support Unit Newsletter

providing support for students. The Division works collaboratively with the Pacific Islands Centre,  Students Learning Centre and other internal and external groups to ensure students are able to achieve their goals at University. The Exec for 2012 have been elected (see page 3 for details).  

Happiness is not a state to arrive at,  but a manner of travelling.  Margaret Lee Runbeck  

 

Dare to be wise…Dare to Dream….Dare to Care!! 

Office Drop‐ins and Appointments   Students are welcome to drop‐by the office without an appointment. If you wish to see the Associate Dean Pacific or a particular staff member, we encourage students to make an appointment (contact details on pg 3). 

 Acknowledgements We would like to extend our sincere gratitude to the Pro Vice‐Chancellor, Deans and leaders in the Division for support  provided for Pacific Students and Staff in the Division. We acknowlegde also the Pacific Islands Centre, other University internal and external support groups, including the important role of families and communities.  

 

Warm Pacific greetings to you all,  Welcome to the bi‐annual newsletter from the  Pacific Unit in the Division of Health Sciences,  University of Otago. This is contains events for, and information about Pacific students, PIHPSA Alumni, staff and developments within the Division of Health Sciences. Pacific students include those  studying Medicine, Physiotherapy, Dentistry,  Pharmacy, Radiation Therapy, the Medical Sciences and Medical Laboratory Science.  2011 has been a year of growth for PIRSSU and the Division of Health Sciences in terms of support and programmes for Pacific students. This year has seen the start of the POPO Programme providing  targeted support to Health Sciences First Year  students. Another first was the Pacific Health  Research Development Day run in collaboration with the Health Research Council.   PIRSSU assists in the recruitment, retention and support of Pacific students in the Division of Health Sciences. Our research focuses on how to increase the academic achievement and recruitment of  students and assess the effectiveness of current support programmes. The Unit has a small team which assists also in the co‐ordination of support  programmes for students.  PIHPSA is an excellent student organisation in the Division. It works collaboratively with PIRSSU in  

PIRSSU Welcome

Divsion of Health Sciences

Warm Pacific Greetings

Ni sa bula vinaka

Malo e lelei Kia Orana

Talofa lava

Fakalofa lahi atu

Kam na mauri

Halo olaketa Ia orana

Taloha ni

Namaste

Kaise ‘Alii

Wantok

Halo

Aloha mai e

University of Otago

In this Newsletter:

Message from the  P2 

Message from the 2012 PIHPSA President 

P2 

PIHPSA Executive Body 2012 

P3 

Upcoming Events  P4 

PIHPSA vs. PILSA  Debate 

P6 

Graduate Profile:  Oka Sanerivi 

P7 

Scholarship  Information 

P8 

Health Sciences Fono Reports 

P10‐11 

Pacific Strategic Framework Goals 

P12 

PIRSSU Contact  Details 

P12 

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with you, and wish you the very best in your career  pathways. Remember : “Commit your ways to God and He will keep your paths straight”.   

PIHPSA Alumni we invite you to remain in contact and where you can, support our Pacific students (PIHPSA) in the Division of Health Sciences, to ensure we can increase the num‐bers successfully completing health sciences courses through the University of Otago.  

For those returning, have a fantastic break and we look forward to seeing you back here in the new year. To the outgoing president Victoria 

Warm Pacific Greetings to you all.   

I would like to take this  opportunity to thank  Professor Crampton (PVC), Andrea Howard and leaders in the Division for enabling the dreams  of our  Pacific parents to resonate within the walls of the University of Otago. Fa’afetai.  Fa’amalo le faia o le faiva. Thank you. Your work is acknowledged with  gratefulness.    

 To our Pacific community, we thank you for your  prayers, love and support.  

Congratulations to those who have completed their studies and are awaiting graduation. We celebrate 

Message from the Associate Dean Pacific

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Dr. Fa’afetai Sopoaga Address: 1/325 Great King Street Ground Floor, Physio Building Email: [email protected] Phone: (03) 479 8483

assignment due the next day or how cold it was that  Monday morning. Having that support really made the year fun and all the work bearable;  I hope to continue that  support for everyone.   

2012’S exec looks amazing and is filled with bright and keen students who all wish to make PIHPSA an organisation that supports our Pacific  students, and encourages  everyone to excel in their  studies.  

We hope, with the help of PIRSSU, to provide support for everyone through mentoring, cultural leadership training, weekly Friday lunches and heaps of other random stuff to make 2012 as  memorable as 2011!  

So I hope everyone has an awesome break, eat healthily, look both ways before  crossing the road, learn to 

cook something new over the summer and enjoy the holidays! Here’s something to think about over Christmas…  

“And the Grinch, with his Grinch‐feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without  ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled till his  puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before. What if  Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more”   ‐ Dr. Seuss How the Grinch Stole Christmas!  

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a prosperous new year!  

God bless, Rowena 

Warm Pacific Greetings to everyone!  

I’d like to introduce myself as the new President for PIHPSA 2012, my name is Rowena Peters and I come from the beautiful islands of Samoa.   

I sat on the PIHPSA exec last year and had such an amazing time! I loved working with Vic and the other members  organising events. As 2011 comes to an end, I remember back to when I returned to Otago as a 2nd year medical student after a tough HSFY; as the year progressively got more hectic with the many case group activities and 4‐6 tutorial classes, it was great to have PIHPSA as that haven where I could meet other  Pacific students like myself and complain about an   Rowena Peters

PIHPSA President 2012

Press on! A better fate awaits thee. Victor Hugo

Join us on Facebook under

PIRSSU or Pacific Health

Sciences

Message from the PIHPSA President

Dol, THANK YOU, you have been a great role model. To the incoming president Rowena Peters, we have great faith in you. To the outgoing and new Exec ,you are our leaders in training, and we are very proud of you.   

Keep well, aim high, always  remember that you can make a difference!     God bless and keep you all Tai   

The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to 

reach your full potential... these are the keys that will unlock the door to personal  

excellence.  Confucius 

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Pacific Islands Research & Student Support Unit Newsletter

PIHPSA Student Executive Body 2012

Rowena Peters President 3rd Year Medicine 

To contact PIHPSA: Email: [email protected] or  Contact via PIRSSU Office (details below) 

Matt Gray Secretary 

Rasela‐Joy (RJ) Faleatua Physiotherapy Rep 

Mosiah Marumatakimanu  OSMS Rep 

Brittany Stanley‐Wishart Treasurer  

Josh Sua Medicine Rep 

Asa Vete Vice‐President 3rd Year Dentistry 

Prasheila Shandil Dentistry Rep 

Jessal Patel Pharmacy Rep 

PIHPSA stands for the Pacific Islands Health Professional Students’ Association. Our membership is made up of pa‐cific island students studying health professions at the University of Otago and Otago Polytechnic. We also have members who are working health professionals and university staff who are involved in actively mentoring us. Our membership is open to anyone who is passionate about pacific health issues. Our vision is to support our students & encourage networking between and within the health professions. PIHPSA has been working to achieve that vi‐sion via mentoring, advocacy, organising social events, sending students to conferences, cultural dances, Friday lunches, encouraging research and the list goes on! Here is a list of our purposes and aims:  To provide mentoring and support for Pacific Island students studying health professional courses.  To help facilitate networking for our students with our future and existing health professionals.  To encourage Pacific culture and community  To provide a forum where students can be informed of pacific health issues  To help advise academic institutions on pacific curriculum and Pacific island recruitment and retention  To promote health professions as careers in pacific communities 

PIHPSA

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In honour of the final Harry Potter Movie, a group of keen PIHPSA members braved the cold and got cosy at Hoyts.  Overall we found the final movie to be a  wonderful wrap up for Harry Potter and avid fans like Rowena Peters your very own PIHPSA Facilitator loved it so much it was her second viewing!  The fight between Mrs Weasley and Bellatrix Lestrange had some PIHPSA members throwing fists at the screen and shouting “OH YEAH!!!” and in contrast there were a couple of  moments when a few tears were shed (ok for the first time you watch it, but to cry for your second viewing?).    Towards the end of the  movie as all eyes were on Voldemort, one PIHPSA Exec  member “she who shall not be named” started to nudge and quietly asked “...Um 

Row, is that the Dark Lord?”  Awesome stuff, Taru you might want to check out  Harry Potters 1 – 7.1 All in all it was a great outing for  everyone and we greatly look forward to our next movie night.    We would like to dedicate this to our members who were not able to make it and especially to Malia Lameta who had to baby sit but  ended up waiting in her car until the movie ended. 

PIHPSA Movie Night—Harry Potter 7.2

Pacific Islands Research & Student Support Unit Newsletter

Summer School Starts: Jan 9th 2011 PHSI 191—for students who passed their lab component in the Semester One PHSI 191 course but failed the paper overall.  CHEM 191—for students who passed the internal assess‐ments of the Semester One CHEM 191 course but failed the paper with a total mark of at least 30%.  HUBS 192—for students who have passed the on‐line (GLMs) and lab check‐outs in Semester Two HUBS 192 paper but failed the paper with a D grade or FAIL and gained at least 30% in the final exam.   Course Approval Semester One: Feb 17th—21st. PIRSSU Staff will be available to talk over course load and pathways for all Pacific students. 

 Leadership Retreat: Feb 24th‐25th—Leadership and  Orientation retreat for PIHPSA Exec members and POPO Peer Educators. 

 Division of Health Sciences Welcome and POPO Launch: Friday March 2nd to welcome all health sciences students to 

Dunedin and to Launch the 2012 POPO Programme. 

 Postgraduate BBQ: March 24th to welcome new and  returning postgraduate students to the Division.  Health Sciences Fono: April 27th‐29th Waihola Christian Camp Ground. 

Community Health Sessions: Held on the last  Sunday of every month. Specialists will go out to the local Pacific community and talk about health issues that are  relevant to Pacific peoples.  Pacific Immersion Programme: 4th year Medical students go out and spend the weekend with local Pacific families. March 17‐18th 2012—Samoan attachment April 21‐22nd 2012—Cook Islands attachment June 30th‐July 1st 2012—Tongan attachment September 8‐9th 2012—Minority Communities  

 

Semester One: Feb 27th—June 1st Mid‐semester Break: April 6th—15th Mid‐year Exams: June 6th—20th 

Upcoming Events 2012

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PIHPSA Friday Lunch Sessions

These sessions provide a mixture of academic, mentoring and general support. They are held every Friday from 1‐2pm (during term time) at the Hunter Centre, Division of Health Sciences. The sessions provide good opportunities for support staff and PIHPSA students to meet. External guests are also invited to present on important topics. Friday sessions are open to PIHPSA students, PIHPSA Alumni, staff in the  Division of Health Sciences and anyone passionate about  Pacific Health issues.  Topics for presentation provided are shared between  

Dentistry, Physiotherapy, Pharmacy, PIHPSA, Medicine and OSMS. PIHPSA Alumni and Post graduates students also have an opportunity to present during these meetings.  Presentations include academic topics, cultural sessions,  social activities and research‐related topics. Sessions are chaired by either PIHPSA or Otago staff members.  We are exploring the possibility of joining PIHPSA students 

and support staff from Wellington and Christchurch to these 

sessions. Please contact us if you need more information. 

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Pacific Islands Research & Student Support Unit Newsletter

In September FLEP (Family Life 

Education Pasefika) came to 

Dunedin to teach in the various 

schools in the Division of 

Health Sciences. While here, 

FLEP also participated in an HR 

training session focused on 

communicating issues of  

identity and cultural awareness 

to general and academic staff 

across the University of Otago, 

Foundation Studies Ltd and 

Otago Polytechnic. 

Through drama, dance and  

dialogue, issues of communica‐

tion, understanding, family life 

and health of Pacific peoples 

were expressed. 

At the end of the session, the 

Manager of Human Resources, 

Jill Turner, was presented with  

artwork  painted during the 

training session depicting the 

two worlds that the Pacific  

person must traverse and  

understand. 

The session was very well  

received. 

PIHPSA vs. PILSA Debate

This year PIHPSA was challenged to a  

debate by PILSA (Pacific Islands Law  

Students’ Association) as part of their  

Pacific Legal Week celebrations. 

The topic was “Should the New Zealand 

government be responsible for Pacific 

Health”.  

Josh Sua, Brittany Stanley‐Wishart and 

Ethan Rubin argued that yes, the New  

Zealand government should be  

responsible to Pacific health, not only in 

New Zealand but also across the wider 

Pacific. The debate was judged by Dr  

Fanaafi Le Tagaloa Aiono and our very 

own Dr Latika Samalia.   

One of the objectives of the week is to 

share knowledge and develop awareness 

and understanding of the range of issues 

facing the Pacific Community. It is hoped 

that the week will provide a forum for in 

depth analysis and collaboration that will 

enable proposals for reforms and  

contribute to national and international 

progress.  

After a heated debate, our team of first 

year health sciences students were  

announced the winners.  

A big thank you goes to everyone that 

went to support our first year students 

and to all those who put time in to give 

them tips and debating strategies. 

Well done PIHPSA!! 

Dare to Care  

We are all faced with a  series of great opportunities  

brilliantly disguised as   impossible situations. 

 Charles R. Swindoll 

Wednesday 14 September, 12 noon in the Moot Court, Otago University.

FLEP HR Training and Pacific Teaching

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Pacific Islands Research & Student Support Unit Newsletter

Oka Sanerivi 

Originally from Auckland, Oka chose to move to the wintry south because “it is the best university in the country, and they undoubtedly have the best School of Physiotherapy”. Oka completed his first degree, a Bachelor of Science in Anatomy and Structural Biology in 2007 and then spent a further three years completing a Bachelor of Physiotherapy. When asked what influenced him to study Physiotherapy, Oka said that he did not chose the degree, the degree chose him through his passion for sports and desire to help people. Today, Oka is a Rotational Physiotherapist at North Shore Hospital in Auckland. He currently provides Physiotherapy services to a Medical and Surgical Ward. Of Samoan and Tongan descent, Oka believes that being Pacific is a great advantage in this field. “It colours everything we do. From how we relate to patients to how we work together with our colleagues even to how we share lunch. Our Pacific people are renowned for being a joyful and caring people, and these are qualities that are highly sought after in my area”. With a passion for people and his field of expertise, Oka finds that he is continuously challenged and rewarded by seeing that people get better with his help, and being a recent graduate, getting paid is an extra bonus. However, Oka also admits that the most valuable lesson he has learnt since entering

the workforce is to make sure you get a good night’s sleep. As a young Health Professional, Oka has much advice for those thinking of Physiotherapy as a career. To succeed, Oka says to “not hold back. I'd encourage you that if you have a love for people and want to see people of all ages have a better quality of life, get into Physiotherapy and throw everything you have into it. If you're like me and don't get admitted to the School first time (or second time) take heart and keep trying. It's worth it beyond dollars and cents”.

Bachelor of Science in Anatomy and Structural Biology

Bachelor of Physiotherapy Otago University

Graduate Profile 

...take heart and

keep trying...

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Now is the time to start  thinking about applying for  scholarships and funding both as undergraduate students and post‐graduates.  

If you feel that you do not have the grades or that there are no scholarships out there that fit your circumstances, please do not dismiss this  section. When applying for scholarships, the worst that can happen is that your  application is not successful. If this happens, you are no 

worse off than before.    

Make sure you shop around for scholarships.   There are many organizations that offer both funding and  scholarships, the following are a few that offer  scholarships however, please contact Malia Lameta if you need more information or assistance in filling out the application forms.   

Scholarship Information/Useful Websites

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Pacific Islands Research & Student Support Unit Newsletter

Jerry is the kind of guy you love to hate. He is always in a good mood and always has something positive to say. When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply, "If I were any better, I would be twins!" He was a unique manager and had several waiters who had followed him around from restaurant to  restaurant. The reason the waiters followed Jerry was because of his attitude.  Seeing this style really made me  curious, so one day I went up to Jerry and said, “I don't get it! You can't be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?" Jerry replied,  "Each morning I wake up and say to myself, Jerry, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or you can choose to be in a bad mood. I choose to be in a good mood.  Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or I can choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it.  Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life. "Yeah, right, it's not that easy," I  protested. "Yes, it is," Jerry said. "Life 

is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people will affect your mood. You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The  bottom line: It's your choice how you live life."  I reflected on what Jerry said. Soon thereafter, I left the restaurant. We lost touch, but I often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it.  Several years later, I heard that Jerry did something you are never supposed to do; he left the back door open one morning and was held up at gun point . While trying to open the safe, his hand slipped. The robbers panicked and shot him. Luckily, Jerry was found relatively quickly and rushed to the local trauma centre. After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, Jerry was released from the hospital with fragments of the bullets still in his body.  I saw Jerry about six months after the accident. When I asked him how he was, he replied, "If I were any better, I'd be twins. Wanna see my scars?" I declined but did ask him what had gone through his mind as the robbery took place. “The first thing that went through my mind was I should have locked the back door," Jerry replied. 

"Then, as I lay on the floor, I  remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live or I could choose to die. I chose to live."  "Weren't you scared? Did you lose consciousness?" I asked. Jerry  continued, "...the paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the ER and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read 'he's a dead man.' I knew I needed to take action." " What did you do?" I asked. "Well, there was a big burly nurse shouting questions at me," said Jerry. "She asked if I was allergic to anything. 'Yes,' I replied. The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled, 'Bullets!' Over their laughter, I told them, 'I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead.'"  Jerry lived thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude. I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully. Attitude, after all, is  everything.  Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own  

actions.  Dalai Lama  

Thought of the day… (A lesson in positive thinking)

The following websites are a few of the many sites that offer scholarships and   funding: University of Otago  Scholarships Database: http://policy01.otago.ac.nz/scholarships/index.html Health Research Council Funding and Scholarships: http://hrc.govt.nz/search.html?search=scholarship Break Out Scholarships: http://www.fis.org.nz/

index.php?page=BreakOut Ministry of Pacific Island Af‐fairs: http://www.mpia.govt.nz/scholarships/ Ministry of Health: http://www.moh.gov.sg/mohcorp/careers.aspx?id=276 Le Va http://www.leva.co.nz/page/5‐Welcome Divisional Website (admission information): http://healthsci.otago.ac.nz/ 

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Pacific Student Support Staff Group

Rosemary Kardos—Senior Lecturer Dentistry Email: [email protected] Phone Number: (03) 479 7476 

Dr Latika Samalia—Pro. Practice Fellow Anatomy & Structural Biology Email: [email protected] Phone Number: (03) 479 5145 

Dr Susan Heydon—Lecturer Pharmacy Email: [email protected] Phone Number: (03) 479 5875 

Prof. Pauline Norris—Chair in Social Pharmacy Pharmacy Email: [email protected] Phone Number: (03) 479 7359 

Katrina Bryant—Pro. Practice Fellow Physiotherapy Email: [email protected] Phone Number: (03) 479 4034 

Dr Sarah Young Pathology Email: [email protected] Phone Number: (03) 479 3457 

Dr Fa’afetai Sopoaga, Associate Dean Pacific Medicine Email: [email protected] Phone Number: (03) 479 8493 

Nadia Smith, Clinical Tutor Radiation Therapy Email: [email protected] Phone: (03) 4709310  

Pacific Islands Research & Student Support Unit Newsletter

Pacific Strategic Group 

Simon Chu, Academic Dean Foundation Studies Email: [email protected] Phone Number: (03) (479) 5717  

     

         

  Division  Prof. Crampton, PVC 

    Andrea Howard, Director Policy and Planning 

    Dr Fa’afetai Sopoaga, Associate Dean Pacific 

    Richard White, Administrative Support 

  DSM  Prof. Philip Hill     

    Dr Rose Richards 

  Dentistry  Dr Jonathan Leichter     

  Physiotherapy  Chris Higgs 

  Pharmacy  Prof. Pauline Norris     

  OSMS  Assoc. Prof. Tony Merriman     

  Planning & Funding  Naomi Weaver     

  Pacific Islands Centre  Tofilau Nina Kirifi‐Alai     

  Wellington Campus  Dr Karlo Mila     

  Christchurch Campus  Allamanda Fa’atoese     

  PIHPSA  President/Vice‐president     

  Pacific Trust Otago  Wale Tobata     

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Pacific Islands Research & Student Support Unit Newsletter

Health Sciences Fono Feedback 

Kitchen Staff Report By Melbourne Mauiliu The kitchen team ruled the camp, hands down!!! Lead by Camp Mum Mrs Aniva Slater and Chief Chef Ms Tala’i Mapusua along with their kitchen hand Malia they managed to feed over 60 hungry staff and students during the duration of the camp!! For the first night of the camp we had delicious chop suey and rice followed by Dr Tai’s famous scones!!! To greet us in the morning was island style cocoa rice made from pure Samoan roasted and ground cocoa, for most it was their first time sampling this dish. The kitchen staff as merry as they were surprised everyone again during lunch time with sandwich roles filled with chicken, eggs and vegetables, lots and lots of vegetables for healthy health

science students. After an afternoon of mud sliding and running around the hungry students descended upon a much needed dinner of roast chicken. The kitchen staff never ceased to amaze the students with what they brought over the counter, everything readily consumed and the satisfied looks on the well fed students’ faces said it all. Sunday morning for any Pacific kitchen staff is the most hectic!! Running on Island time, the students woke up 3 hours later than they were supposed to and started on the umu. The boys worked outside getting the fire started while the girls all gathered around in the kitchen for “My Kitchen Rules” with Malia; menu – corned beef stew inside whole roasted pumpkins. This involved intricately carving up the pumpkin and disposing of the inner seeds so the corned beef stew mix can be poured in. One important thing to note when

Preparation for PIHPSA Camp 2011! By Asa Vete Countless hours were involved to ensure the PIHPSA 2011 Camp would be a success! (My impression from the last meeting was that the camp was EPIC! so guts for those who couldn’t make it...maybe next year aye) Fortunately the camp was well revised and planned by none other than PIHPSA president Victoria Dol and her 2011 executive. However it is also important to note the contribution of the staff here at PIRSSU. Don’t want to mention any names but Malia was awesome! Thank you. During the weekly executive meetings the president and the exec would gather and after a prayer, big feeds! An exec dinner at ‘Great taste’ allowed us to format a schedule for the camp. The exec decided to keep the agenda similar to the camp last year, with some modifications here and there. Ideas such as the amazing race, camp fire, mud slides and zumba in the mornings were among a few that were thrown around the table. Initiatives for PIHPSA t-shirts were also brought up. It

wasn’t long before the team had put together a recipe for an awesome camp. Back to the Wednesday meetings, Jordan gave us the low down on the hundreds of dollars PIHPSA casually had lying around in the bank. Yeah Right. He decided on looking for sponsors for this years’ camp. What a great idea! With the help from once again the staff at PIRSSU aka Malia, letters were made and enveloped to various outlets and supermarkets. These included Cadbury factory, new world, farmers and stationary warehouse. Members of the exec were then divided into groups, i.e. amazing group, star group etc. These groups were responsible for ensuring the variety of events at the camp ran accordingly. As the camp neared, stress mounted among the exec i.e. Matt’s long hair started to grey. Now all that was left was some fine tuning of transportation and making sure guest speakers were still available for the camp. At the end of the day crucial team work and communication between PIHPSA and Malia laid the platform for one hell of a time at Waihola!

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Pacific Islands Research & Student Support Unit Newsletter

‘Experience makes perfect’ Tarucilla Tatui The opportunity to lead and facilitate the Research Workshop at the PIHPSA camp was a great learning experience. Not only in terms of improving my personal skills in public speaking but boosting self-confidence as well. On inception, the idea of facilitating the workshop seemed quite a challenge, nerve-wrecking to say the least. However, I found it to be stimulating and resourceful. I also had the privilege to be assisted by Dr Tai Sopoaga where she provided useful tips and advice that were fundamental to my role as a facilitator. During our brief conversation over breakfast, I learnt that it was important to always ‘engage with the audience’ and the best place to start was the introduction. Subsequently, I progressively came to grips with the formality of things. The audience was great and they made my job a whole lot easier. One of the major tasks required was to summarise what each speaker had said. This required a lot of active listening, attention, and trying to put it in a context that

everyone could relate to. On the day, we had four guest speakers- Dr Rose Richards, the Deputy Director of a Research Unit in the Otago Medical School, Neil Kerr, a fourth year medical student who conducted a research for his BMedSci (Hons) degree he completed last year, Josh Chamberlain, a third year medical student currently undertaking a research for his BMedSci (Hons) Degree, and, Rhys Fa’avae, a fourth year medical student who completed his research under the Summer Studentship programme. Each speaker, in their own level of expertise, contributed immensely to our knowledge of research. In general, it was indeed a humbling and great opportunity to participate in the Research Workshop particularly as facilitator. This was a great learning experience and something that could be allocated amongst our members as I believe we all have the potential and the capability of carrying out such tasks. Facilitating a workshop is a skill that comes with experience and I believe that with a lot of experience, things can be perfected.

making this dish is that the lid is very important and must be retained, not butchered. Everyone pitched in and helped where they could while the kitchen staff directed them, it was like a scene out of a Sunday morning back in the islands – the only thing missing were the church bells and of course my mum yelling (Malia was very nice). To make it more of a Pacific feast we had dry curry, mutton flaps, taro and bananas. To top it off was a beautiful vegetable salad, like always a healthy meal for the healthy health sciences students. The Pro-Vice

Chancellor Professor Peter Crampton, Staff and Community joined us later on to share our to’onai with us and the company enjoyed the food. The kitchen staff, always smiling did a wonderful job taking care of the students. The sounds of laughter from the kitchen and the beautiful and mouth watering aroma never failed to lift our spirits. After all, when you’re well fed you are one happy person!!!

The Amazing Race By Matthew & Rowena It’s all in the name, the amazing race was AMAZING! Preparing for it and coming up with ideas on how to make that afternoon fun and awesome was such an enjoyable task. We met a few times and came up with a number of challenges for the race; and in the end, we had 5 challenges which were represented by different countries in the Pacific. The countries were Niue, Samoa, Cook Islands, Kiribati and New Zealand. The teams that were created on the first night of camp all participated; Bananas in Pyjamas, Wolfpack, Banananami, Dr Who and Osama Banana. In Samoa, teams had to navigate with water balloons, this went well until Team Bananas in Pyjamas decided to attack Osama Banana with their water balloons… good stuff! In Niue, teams had to eat their way through a tub of Jelly, sympathies go out to Team Dr Who, who had to eat through the saltiest Jelly on earth (Blame none other than

Melbourne Mauiliu from Osama banana). In Kiribati, teams had to complete a puzzle of Sudoku, top prize going to Marcus!! In New Zealand, teams had to munch their way through dry weetbix without the assistance of any liquid refreshments, all complied except Matthew, who was caught throwing half a weetbix away without Mara noticing. In the Cook Islands, Teams had to complete an assault course, and finally, each team had to complete the race by going down a large mudslide. Everyone loved the race, and even a month after camp finished, we can’t seem to stop talking about it. The highlight of some peoples’ weekend, which was mentioned during camp reflection on Sunday, was the mudslide. The amazing race was a good experience because everyone participated and even though it was competitive, it was nice to see team members help each other out at the different stations. Overall, the race was an awesome experience!!

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PIRSSU Corner

Tangi Joseph Secretary 1/325 Great King Street Rm G01, Ground Floor Physio Building University of Otago Office: (03) 479 8493 Fax: (03) 479 3935

[email protected]

www.pirssu.otago.ac.nz

PIRSSU Contact Details

Malia Lameta Pacific Project Coordinator PIRSSU

Tangi Joseph Secretary PIRSSU

Dr Fa’afetai Sopoaga Associate Dean Pacific Division of Health Sciences

To contact any or all PIRSSU staff, please use

the PIRSSU email address under Contact

details.

Pacific Islands Research & Student Support Unit Newsletter

www.pirssu.otago.ac.nz 

PACIFIC  STRATEGIC  FRAMEWORK  GOALS 

1. To encourage Pacific research excellence. The Pacific Research Development Day 2011 was run in conjunction with NZ Health Research Council.

2. To demonstrate and value leadership in Pacific matters.

3. To strengthen community engagement. The Division will continue to build strong relationships with Pacific families, and provide pathways for Pacific students at schools to ensure they are informed, inspired and able to capture the opportunities available in the University.

4. To enhance capability. The Division of Health Sciences is focused on enhancing the capability of Pacific staff and students.

5. To develop the Pacific curriculum. Ensuring that curricula in the Division’s Professional Programmes incorporate a Pacific component.

6. To contribute to the Pacific region and international pro-gress. The Division has a strong commitment to continue to support and build mutually beneficial relationships with the wider Pacific region.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 

from the PIRSSU Team