We are excited to welcome Bachelor of Nursing Pacific student, Agnes Petaia, who is in her third year of study at Whitireia. Agnes will be joining the community specialist palliative nurse team working in Porirua and the clinical nurse team at the inpatient unit in Newtown, during her nine week placement, starting late July.
Agnes has enjoyed two successful years at Whitireia and is looking forward to completing her final year of study before sitting her State Final examination in November. Agnes is a New Zealand born Tokelau, has three children aged 16, 13 and 7, and is an active member in the Atafu Tokelau Community in Porirua. The reason Agnes chose to be an RN was to help her people, and to set an example for her children, that nothing is impossible when you apply yourself. Agnes has been working as a support worker in a residential facility in Wellington for almost nine years.
“There is a Tokelau value, ‘Alofa ki te tamamanu’ meaning to love/support/protect the vulnerable or less fortunate. This is something I believe palliative patients, especially those with no family support could benefit from, ensuring that they have the best possible quality of life for their illness, but also that they are shrouded with support and love throughout their journey. Aroha, Manaakitanga, kaitiakitanga, and Mana, and rangatiratanga are core values in the Tokelau culture and Pasifika as a whole, I believe actioning these values in palliative care is essential.
Agnes is passionate about palliative care nursing and looks forward to getting to know and working with the clinical and medical teams at Mary Potter Hospice.
Please join us in giving Agnes Petaia a warm welcome!