Sacrifice pays off for surgeon

Zanazir Alexander, Kopa Manahi, Jaclyn Aramoana-Arlidge (at the front), and Joshua Knudsen travelled to Australia to learn about encouraging more indigenous people into specialties like surgery.

Growing up, Kopa Manahi never imagined he'd be a doctor - nobody in his family had ever graduated from high school, let alone university.

Now a general surgical registrar, Dr Manahi was recently one of four junior doctors selected to travel to Brisbane as guests of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons for its Annual Scientific Congress.

Dr Manahi said the trip, which focused on encouraging more indigenous doctors to look at surgery as a career, was beneficial.

He conceded there was a lack of Maori surgeons and believed part of it was because of the long hours needed to train.

"Some of the things I can think of is being a surgeon is very time-consuming, very busy and perhaps much of your life is spent within the hospital.

"For Maori perhaps other specialties offer a better lifestyle aspect."

Dr Manahi said training to be a surgeon involved sacrifices. Home is Rotorua, where his wife and two children are, but he is working in Hawke's Bay so commutes home in the weekends and on other time off.

"I always thought to myself I wish I wanted to do general practice because it would make life so much easier and provide for the lifestyle that I wanted."

However he said he couldn't go past the love of surgery - the cutting and sewing and procedural and practical stuff.

"It is really satisfying when a person comes in with pain and you can alleviate it with an operation."

He also believed it was a great way for him to improve Maori health and said his prime passion was to become a role model for other Maori rangatahi.

"I want them to say 'it is probably something I could do'."

He said growing up in Ngongotaha in a solo parent environment, there was no reason for him to aspire to be a doctor.

"The doctors I saw were Pakeha or foreign. I didn't grow up in an academic family. It wasn't until I had my own medical issues and was in and out of hospital for about eight months in the fourth form that I considered it."

Dr Manahi wound up in Rotorua Hospital after getting an ulcer on his ankle. He spent months recovering including surgery and skin grafts, and treatments at larger hospitals.

Dr Manahi admitted the personal challenge was huge.

"I was the first one in my family to graduate from high school, let alone go to university or medical school. I haven't settled for anything less."

Dr Manahi said he was now heavily involved in projects helping rangatahi look at health as a career and promoting the sciences among Maori.

His biggest career goals were improving Maori health statistics and being a good role model for rangatahi. One day he hopes to look into the field of organ donation among Maori and increasing the rates.

"My ultimate goal is to return back home to Rotorua as a surgeon.

"It's also about giving back to the community and my iwi who helped me through the challenges I faced. They helped get me to where I am now, it makes sense to return."