Māori and Indigenous Australian surgeons join hui in Tamaki Makaurau

Professor Kelvin Kong (Worimi), left, is Australia’s first Indigenous surgeon.

Māori and indigenous Australian surgeons are gathering for a conference in Tāmaki Makaurau this weekend.

Up to 50 Māori, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island surgeons, surgical trainees and doctors interested in becoming surgeons will begin their two-day hui at Te Manukanuka o Hoturoa Marae in Māngere on Saturday with the aim of building ties and creating a community for indigenous surgeons.

Dr John Mutu-Grigg (Ngāti Kahu, Te Rarawa), chairman of the Māori health advisory group of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS), says the hui is an important opportunity to develop whanaungatanga among them.

“Most of the time, as Māori and Aboriginal or Torres Strait Island surgeons and trainees, we are working in isolation from each other. There’s no chance to share our experiences or discuss issues we may be encountering. Yet Indigenous surgeons on both sides of the Tasman have a common ground and shared perspective,” Dr Mutu-Grigg said on Thursday in a statement.

“By creating a community for Indigenous surgeons to rely on for support and understanding we can hopefully smooth the path for each other and for other Māori and First Nation Australians considering surgical careers.”

Dr John Mutu-Grigg is the chairman of the Māori health advisory group of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons. Photo / Auckland Orthopaedics

The group last met in 2017 and this time will open up the hui to indigenous surgical trainees and doctors considering pursuing a surgical career.

“There is a bigger cohort of indigenous trainees coming through the ranks than ever before and we would like to see each and every one of them make it through to fellowship. For this to happen, they need support, mentorship and guidance and that’s why it’s so important for them to be connected in with established indigenous surgeons,” he says.

“By including trainees, we’re also recognising their role in attracting other new talent into the profession. They are the role models for future Māori, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander surgeons.”

Mutu-Grigg says the drawing power of the trainees is especially critical given their Māori health advisory group’s goal of training 150 Māori surgeons by 2040.

There are now 28 Māori surgical trainees and about 20 fully qualified Māori surgeons. In Australia, there are three indigenous surgeons and four trainees, he says.

Professor Kelvin Kong (Worimi), Australia’s first Indigenous surgeon, will deliver a keynote address at the conference, alongside Professor Jonathan Koea (Te Ātiawa, Ngāti Mutunga) - who was the only Māori general surgeon in Aotearoa when he first finished his surgical training in the late 1990s.

“In both Aboriginal and Māori culture, the concept of connection is important. The hui will give us a chance to have frank conversations, face-to-face and without interruptions,” Kong says.