The care that nurses showed Kaiya Te Ota Collier’s family during a time of grief motivated the former student to obtain her Bachelor of Nursing from EIT Tairāwhiti.

Now 22-year-old Kaiya (Ngati Porou, Rongowhakaata) is working as a nurse in the Orthopaedic Rehabilitation Ward at Hauora Tairāwhiti (Gisborne Hospital) and will graduate at the EIT Tairāwhiti graduation ceremony to be held at the War Memorial Theatre in Gisborne tomorrow (28th October 2022).

Kaiya, who moved from Upper Hutt to Gisborne when she was about ten and attended Lytton High School, had initially wanted to be a physiotherapist, but a family tragedy soon changed that.

“My cousin passed away a few years ago and just seeing the way the nurses treated our family in a hard time, made me realise that I wanted to be that person for someone else’s family.”

“When I found out that EIT Tairāwhiti offered the Bachelor of Nursing , I thought, well why not and decided to do it. It also meant that I would be able to be around my family whilst doing it.”

Before she enrolled in the degree, Kaiya first did the NZ Certificate in Study and Career Preparation [Level 4], taking the Hauora | Nursing/Health Pathway option.

“It is a six-month bridging programme, which I think was a good step towards the nursing degree. It really did lay the foundations for me.”

Kaiya began her degree in 2019, with her first year being fees-free under the Government’s scheme, and she completed it last year before moving on to work at Gisborne Hospital.

She says she enjoyed the programme, especially the practical placements.

“I loved being able to get into the hospitals and around the community and actually practice what you learn in class.”

“I am not really a pen and books kind of person, but more hands on, so it was quite good to get out there and actually put what you learn to practice.

“The first year we went into aged care for a couple weeks and then the second year we did a bit of mental health placements, hospitals and community work.”

Kaiya says she also enjoyed the support her lecturers gave her and the other students.

“They know the industry; they are trained, and they come with a lot of experience. A few of them even still did shifts so they were still up to date and had all of that knowledge, which I thought was pretty awesome.”

As for her career path, Kaiya is enjoying being on the Orthopaedics Rehabilitation ward.

“It is a good steppingstone, and the team is always keen to give me a hand and teach me new things.”

Kaiya is also currently completing the Nurse Entry to Practice (NETP) programme which is designed support graduates with professional development to transition from graduate to competent registered nurse.

For now, Kaiya is focused on the graduation, which was delayed because of COVID-19.

“I am glad the wait is over. My grandparents are coming up from Wellington and my family here will come as well.”

Associate Professor Denise Blanchard, Head of School, Te Kura Kaupapa Tapuhi, School of Nursing wishes Kaiya and all graduates congratulations and best wishes for their next adventure!