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International Nursing Academic Joins EIT

August 28, 2013

EIT nursing lecturer Dr Lucy Nguma is a Masai, born in Tanzania

Recently-appointed lecturer in nursing Dr Lucy Nguma was attracted to EIT because of its reputation for applied research and teaching.

“I liked the position because it also has a focus on research,” she says of her decision to take up the teaching position for undergraduate and postgraduate students enrolled at EIT.  “I am looking forward to undertaking teaching and a diversity of research projects here.”

Formerly an assistant professor at the University of Buraimi in the Sultanate of Oman where she lectured in nursing and optometry, Lucy was very excited to join EIT in mid-July.

A Masai born in Arusha on the slopes of Mt Kilamanjaro in Tanzania, she gained a Bachelor of Arts majoring in sociology and an Advanced Diploma in Nursing Education from the University of Dar-es Salaam.  She is a registered nurse with 20 years experience in nursing and teaching practice in Tanzania, Australia, New Zealand as well as Oman.

Lucy studied for her Master in Public Health at the University of New South Wales, and for her PhD in Public Health at the University of Otago.  The topic for her PhD thesis was “Health-seeking and health-related behaviour for type 2 diabetes mellitus among urban adults in Tanzania”.

Leaving Arabia’s scorchingly high temperatures, Lucy has been unfazed by winter in Hawke’s Bay.

“I previously lived in Wellington for five years, so this is lovely,” she laughs of a southerly front blasting the EIT campus.

Husband Justin, who gained his master’s and doctorate degrees from Californian universities, works as a senior public health analyst for Regional Public Health, Hutt Valley District Health Board.    The couple have three children, all studying for university qualifications in Wellington.