PIHPSA - Pacific Health Professional Student Association

News Brief

Photos are now online from the PIHPSA
BBQ Meet and Greet
Rugby Trip
Dinner with PMA
PMA 11th Annual Conference Details now available online at http://www.pacifichealth.org.nz/conference.html

An Introduction to PIHPSA

PIHPSA stands for the PacificIsland Health Professional Students Association. Our membership is made up of pacific island students studying health professions at the University of Otago and the Otago Polytechnic. At present our membership is composed of students studying medicine, pharmacy, physiotherapy, dentistry, medical laboratory science and nursing. We also have members who are working health professionals or university staff who are involved in actively mentoring us. Our membership is open to anyone who is passionate about pacific health issues.

We are a student body officially affiliated to the Otago University Students Association (OUSA) and the Pasifika Medical Association (PMA).

Role of PIHPSA representatives

PIHPSA has representatives for each of the health professional courses. Our representatives also work to develop ties with their counterparts in other universities in New Zealand and abroad.

PIHPSA objectives:

All members and representatives of PIHPSA work to enforce and follow these objectives:

To provide mentoring and support for Pacific Island students studying health professional courses including medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, physiotherapy, medical laboratory science, nursing and other health professional courses;
To enable pacific students to form valuable networks with other future and existing health professionals;
To expose students and the community to Pacific culture;
To alert students to the specials issues involved in pacific health;
To provide mentoring and assistance for students contemplating entering a health profession (planning health fono and acting as academic mentors for the PI centre);
To provide advice to academic institutions on the Pacific Health curriculum and pacific student recruitment and retention and
To promote health professions as career paths in Pacific communities.

What can PIHPSA do for you?

TRAVEL: Arrange funding for you to attend relevant conferences focused on pacific health and other relevant issues. For example last year our students went to Tonga to attend the annual PMA conference and this year we will arrange accommodation and travel to Auckland for PIHPSA students to attend the annual PMA conference and other meetings with the PMA and Auckland students.
EDUCATION: We try and arrange tutorials for your course and help you with study tips for examinations.
SOCIAL LIFE: We have many events which allow you to network with your peers studying different courses. Our events include dinners, camps, regular monthly meetings with speakers etc.
COMMUNITY: PIHPSA works in the pacific community by going on pacific radio programmes and liaising with local and international pacific community organisations.
VOICE: We are your voice and let you express your concerns and ideas at a national level.
ELECTIVES: Would you like some work experience in a pacific island country during your holidays? Many of our members have done this and we can help arrange this for you.
MENTORING: We can help you with mentoring by practising members of your profession e.g. doctors, pharmacists etc. We also encourage you to mentor health science and high school students achieve their potential by participating in the University of Otago PI centre academic mentoring programme. We also help the Health Sciences Division arrange the annual Health Fono.