May 05, 2016
Scholarships to train Maori surgeons
The Royal Australasian College of Surgeons and health products company Johnson & Johnson Medical have teamed up to encourage Maori doctors to become surgeons.
The one-year, $20,000 scholarship will be open to medical trainees who are members of Te Ohu Rata o Aotearoa, the Maori Medical Practitioners Association.
College president David Watters says fewer than 10 of the 800 practising surgeons in New Zealand identify with the college as being Maori.
He says the organisation is committed to addressing the gaps in career opportunities for Maori, and similar scholarships are offered in Australia for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander doctors.
Te Ora chair Rawiri Jansen welcomed the move, saying Te Ora is working with the college to develop the Maori surgical workforce and to improve health outcomes for Maori.
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