Māori Pharmacists: Staying, going, or gone?

Intern

Shelby Rupa-Hayward, Ngāpuhi, University of Otago

Supervisor

Dr Lisa Kremer, The University of Otago 

Overview

Māori pharmacists make up less than 3% of the total number of registered pharmacists in Aotearoa. An immense amount of work goes into recruitment of future pharmacists into the profession, however reasons for why Māori pharmacists stay, consider leaving, or leave the profession are not well understood. The purpose of this research is to understand reasons and critical factors that influence Māori pharmacists’ decisions around their pharmacy career.

The intern carried out a literature review for publications on Indigenous pharmacists’ views on the pharmacy profession. Then they ran an online Qualtrix survey of all known Māori pharmacists (practicing and non-practicing) through a distribution list held at the Pharmacy Council of New Zealand and through Ngā Kaitiaki o Te Puna Rongoā o Aotearoa networks. Following completion of the online survey, the intern supported preliminary analysis of the data and had the opportunity to co-author a manuscript to disseminate results within an open access journal.