One of Aotearoa’s most respected Māori nursing leaders says strengthening Māori leadership, culturally grounded education and equity-focused healthcare will be central to the future of nursing as she steps into a historic new role at Waipapa Taumata Rau, the University of Auckland.
Josephine Davis of Ngāti Manu and Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei has become the first Māori Head of the School of Nursing in the university’s history, marking a major milestone for Māori representation in tertiary health leadership.
Davis is widely recognised as one of New Zealand’s first Māori nurse practitioners and has spent nearly four decades working across frontline healthcare, nursing education, workforce development and Māori health advocacy.
Her appointment comes during a period of growing pressure on the health sector to address workforce shortages, inequities in Māori health outcomes and calls for more culturally responsive healthcare systems.
Davis says her journey into nursing leadership was shaped by whānau, community responsibility and a deep commitment to improving outcomes for Māori through both clinical care and systemic change.
Over her career, she has worked extensively in kaupapa Māori health settings while also helping shape national conversations around nursing education, primary care and Indigenous health equity.
As Head of School, Davis says one of her immediate priorities will be strengthening pathways for Māori into nursing and supporting a workforce that better reflects the communities it serves.
Māori remain significantly underrepresented across many parts of the health workforce despite longstanding evidence showing culturally safe care and Māori-led services improve outcomes for whānau.
Davis says Māori leadership within nursing education has the potential to transform not only who enters the profession, but how nurses are trained, supported and prepared to work alongside diverse communities.
She says kaupapa Māori approaches place strong emphasis on relationships, collective wellbeing, whānau-centred care and understanding the broader social realities affecting health.
Longer-term ambitions for the School of Nursing include growing research capability, strengthening Indigenous knowledge within curriculum design and ensuring future nurses are equipped to respond to inequities experienced across the health system.
Davis says leadership grounded in tikanga Māori and lived experience can help shift healthcare away from reactive systems toward models centred on prevention, community connection and holistic wellbeing.
Throughout her career, she says values such as manaakitanga, service, humility and collective responsibility have remained central to her leadership approach.
Her appointment is being widely welcomed as a significant moment for Māori nursing, tertiary education and the future direction of healthcare leadership in Aotearoa.
Health leaders say the move reflects growing recognition of the importance of Māori expertise and Indigenous leadership in reshaping systems that have historically failed to deliver equitable outcomes for Māori communities.
#JosephineDavis #MāoriHealth #Nursing #WaipapaTaumataRau #MāoriLeadership #HealthEquity #NursePractitioner #Aotearoa #MāoriNurses #RadioWaatea #WhānauOra #HealthcareLeadership
