Northland nurse and academic Dr Pipi Barton has been awarded the 2026 Te Akenehi Hei Memorial Award celebrating nurse leadership.
This prestigious title is awarded only every two years. It is the highest honour that can be given by Te Rūnanga o Aotearoa representing Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa NZNO's Māori members. The Award is named after Akenehi Hei, the first Māori nurse and midwife to register under her own name rather than the name ‘Agnes’ given to her by her Pākehā employers.
Dr Barton (Ngāti Puhiawe, Ngāti Horotakere, Ngāti Hikairo ki Kāwhia) was presented with the taonga at the Indigenous Nurses Aotearoa Conference held at Māhurehure Marae in Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland) earlier this month.
Since becoming a registered nurse in 1991, Dr Barton has made it her career mission to advocate for Māori nurses as both tauira (students) and in the workforce.
In her acceptance speech, Dr Barton acknowledged her tīpuna Māori and tapuhi Māori saying she stands for them. "This award carries the ingoa of Akenehi Hei. As Māori nurses we stand on the shoulders of those who stood before us, and I have spent much of my career advocating for Māori nurses. There have been many who have walked along beside me and supporting me along the way," Dr Barton says.
The findings of her doctorate research supported the establishment of NorthTec's Puawānanga Tapuhi Māori (Bachelor of Nursing Māori) programme. One of only four Māori nursing programmes and the only one to be based in a rural setting in the Māori community of Ngāwha, near Kaikohe.
The Māori nursing programme officially launched last year, and the first cohort is due to graduate next year.
Dr Barton's masters and doctorate research focused on Māori health and Māori nursing. It examined how the Māori nursing workforce has remained static at 7% for the past 40 years despite Māori making up 17.5% of the population.
"Our programme is a response to that to try and grow the Māori workforce and particularly the rural Māori nursing workforce," Dr Barton says.
"My research identified that Māori students and nurses really struggle in mainstream Bachelor of Nursing programmes and that there is a need for more Māori nursing programmes. I'm currently doing research to determine whether Māori programmes increase Māori retention and completion of Bachelor of Nursing programmes."
Caption: 2026 Te Akenehi Hei Memorial Award recipient Pipi Barton, right, pictured with previous recipient Dhyanne Hohepa, left, and Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa NZNO Kaiwhakahaere Kerri Nuku. Photo credit: Naera Ohia