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StruckOff's avatar

Personally I would avoid Maori and Pacifica surgeons as they might have gotten into medical school on lesser grades, passed through medical school with multiple failures, passed through two years as a house officer despite failing and passed through specialist training with multiple failures. All of this is as it actually happens and I have watched my colleagues and my husband's colleagues do exactly that. So I would never see a Maori or Pacifica specialist which is awful as there are obviously some very excellent Maori and Pacifica specialists out there but their names are destroyed by the incompetence of their DEI counterparts.

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Yvonne van Dongen's avatar

Gosh I knew that many Māori and Pacifica entered the medical profession on much lower grades but I didn’t know the rest. Don’t suppose anyone you know would be willing to talk, even off the record, about this? I’d love to write about it. Eroding meritocracy has many victims.

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Katrina Biggs's avatar

I was of the impression that although Māori and Pacifica could get into uni and medical school on lower grades, they still had to pass all the exams whilst there. Are you saying that this isn’t the case?

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Just Boris's avatar

Students at Otago on the MAPAS pathway (ca. 70% entry requirement bs ca.92% for general entry) get special tutorials, race-reserved spaces, free lunches, free equipment like stethoscopes, and ‘strong hints’ about what is in the exams. They are spoon fed all the way through to try & help them pass. Struck Off above is correct in her comments.

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StruckOff's avatar

when I was at medical school in the early 1990s the MPAS students were actually given the exam questions a day before. if a NON-MPAS student failed one year they could repeat that year but if they failed a second year they were kicked out. But a MPAS student could fail many years and not get kicked out. Same with specialist training. my husband did his in 6 years as is the normal case if you do not fail any thing. his colleague took 11 years because he was allowed to repeat the five years that he failed.

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Just Boris's avatar

Although I thought they still had to scrape a pass in exams?

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StruckOff's avatar

when the medical students graduate and reach first year as junior doctors, after that year the head physician at the hospital has to pass them for full registration.

if a non maori fails they repeat that junior doctor year. when I was working the hospital system if a maori student failed they were passed anyway. this was not what the head physician wanted but the non-medical head of Maori affairs at the Hospital forced the issue so that failure of Maori junior doctors was impossible. they even gave maori junior doctors cars and higher wages to keep them in the region. it was apartheid and is still apartheid. when we non maori doctors complained we were told by the maori cult in the hospital to shut up and sit down or lose your jobs.

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Katrina Biggs's avatar

Holy smoke! And yet there are STILL only a few Māori and Pasifika GPs and doctors in the health system, so this approach is clearly not working even after all this time, and yet it remains in place 😳

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StruckOff's avatar

I amassing they can keep deign the same year over again until they pass no mater how many years it might take them.

when I was at medical school in the early 1990s the MPAS students were actually given the exam questions a day before. if a NON-MPAS student failed one year they could repeat that year but if they failed a second year they were kicked out. But a MPAS student could fail many years and not get kicked out. Same with specialist training. my husband did his in 6 years as is the normal case if you do not fail any thing. his colleague took 11 years because he was allowed to repeat the five years that he failed.

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LDA's avatar

Reading this job and, it strikes me that very few specialists would meet the criteria. But there may exist a purple unicorn who does, which makes me wonder if specific individuals are already identified and the ad is a way of justifying their employment?

Looking at a number of job ads, it seems Aotearoa has been stealthily implementing affirmative actions for a small well connected segment of society, who are loading the dice to ensure that they and their friends are getting preferred access to jobs.

The National Party in South Africa called it Separate Development, the ANC called it Affirmative Action and Black Economic Empowerment.

I guess Aotearoa doesn't have any problems with institutionalised racism, judging by what has been happening since Ardern took over.

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MikeNZ's avatar

Luxon is woke and supports Co-Governance. That is racist and undemocratic.

He is sitting on his arse not dealing to the foreshore and seabed as John keys mate Chris Finlayson represents Nga Tahu yet again, is in CCH High Court to grab control over all the Freshwater in the South Island.

The entire civil service is like TV1 in it’s adoration of the 17% of NZ that claims some % of Maori blood in them.

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Carolyn's avatar

OMG! Thank you for bringing this to public attention. I just hope whoever got the job is actually qualified as a surgeon.

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Yvonne van Dongen's avatar

Oh don’t be so picky. As long as they know the principles of Te Tiriti and are on a te reo journey, that should be enough. Seriously though I have asked to be notified when they make the appointment just to check that they hadn’t written the ad to cater to someone they already had in mind.

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John Baker's avatar

And anyway, ‘qualifications’ are a settler colonist imposition that we are all better liberated from, based on white patriarchal hegemony calling itself science. Southern Health are taking a stand! Aux barricades, citoyens!

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The 80’s Called.'s avatar

Look it’s so over the top ridiculous with cultural requirements that applicants will be put off and these highly skilled roles will remain vacant. I always like the one that says “bring your whole self to work”, what does that mean, have we only been turning up with missing body parts before now???

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Yvonne van Dongen's avatar

I know. The ad was so bad it was almost comical. Honestly, who are the people writing this garbage? They need to be moved on.

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The 80’s Called.'s avatar

When I gained my HR quals a long time ago, we wrote ads as part of our course, we were required to stick to the person specifications and job related skills. For a highly professional role like this one you really need to attract the best people, I don’t understand the bit about voluntary experience, is that in case you spent a weekend at a marae serving up food or something ???? Look these organisations need a good shake up, DEI has taken over, it reminds me when I worked at university and my colleague telling me the new TL had said to her that “ we need to brown this place up” yes, you heard it right, apparently we were white, able bodied and middle class and therefore did not represent the university community !!!

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Yvonne van Dongen's avatar

I agree. I have fantasies of a Javier Milei type chainsaw going through the lot. Also they’re paid far too much, out of kilter with most working people who pay their wages.

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Rob's avatar

It’s racism pure and simple.

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Jonno5's avatar

I see this ad through the eyes of a person who has spent 9 or 10 years getting the necessary qualifications and experience and they have a student loan of more than $100,000. I'd be devastated that the hiring organisation thinks so little of my skills that they'd mock my profession in such a way. It would motivate me to check the job ads in Australia and move overseas pronto. And we wonder why NZ is losing skilled professionals.

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Daniel Howard James's avatar

I sense the advert was placed so that Human Resources could say they 'tried' to recruit an indigenous surgeon. Tough luck for all those non-white surgeons who weren't taught New Zealand's indigenous ways of knowing while training in Lagos, Mumbai or Beijing.

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MikeNZ's avatar

Not until these people are sacked will it stop. Sadly, Luxon is woke as and Supports Co-Governance

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Yvonne van Dongen's avatar

What politicians value more than principles is power. He may change if he realises he stands to lose pursuing this woke path. The world has shifted on its axis. Surely even Luxon can feel that.

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Astra Lucia Verum Omni's avatar

This is absurd, laughable and scary at the same time. It's getting to new lows when it comes to common sense in this country.

By the way, we are getting lessons in Te Reo and Tikanga and how bad whities are 3 days a week now from Shortland Street. Not anything new, but the ante is upped!

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Yvonne van Dongen's avatar

Omg the luvvies are so behind the 8 ball. But change is in the air all over the world. It must make its way here eventually.

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Astra Lucia Verum Omni's avatar

I certainly hope so, so over it!

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Yvonne van Dongen's avatar

I’d love to write a story about the rule bending around MAPAS but so far all I’ve got is anonymous hearsay. Anyone got any ideas about how I can get verifiable info for publication?

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mari's avatar

Discusting

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