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  • Clinical Senior Lecturer
  • TI Convenor

MBChB(Auckland) FRNZCGP

Email maira.patu@otago.ac.nz

About Maira Patu (Kāi Tahu, Kāti Māmoe, Waitaha, Te Arawa)

Dr Maira Patu is a General Practitioner and Senior Lecturer at the University of Otago, Christchurch, within the Māori/Indigenous Health Innovation (MIHI) Unit. Raised in Waihopai (Invercargill), she works to make medical education more equitable and help future doctors feel better prepared to care for Māori whānau.

She has worked as a GP from South Auckland to Murihiku, including helping to establish one of the first Very Low-Cost Access practices in Waihopai with Ngā Kete Mātauranga Pounamu. Maira is a graduate of the University of Auckland and a Fellow of the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners.

During the COVID-19 response, she was Clinical Lead for the MIHI Mobile Vaccination Team, learning alongside colleagues how to better reach Māori communities. Beyond her clinical and teaching roles, she serves her community in a number of external capacities — contributing to governance, curriculum development, and health system advocacy — always with a focus on supporting Māori health and whānau wellbeing.

Maira is involved in the design, development, implementation and evaluation of the Hauora Māori curriculum at UOC. Maira is a member of the Hauora Māori Vertical Module Teaching group of the MBChB Curriculum Committee. Maira also contributes to the MIHI post-graduate short courses that support the professional development of health professionals in the Hui Process and Meihana Model.

Maira has a focus on developing curriculum which utilises simulation and draws on local Māori patient experiences in the health system to support transformative practice.

Teaching

Undergraduate medical curriculum

Postgraduate short courses

  • MIHI RMO 301
  • MIHI 501 Clin Psych
  • MIHI 501 RANZCOG
  • MIHI 501 Health Professionals

Publications

Christensen, B., & Patu, M. (2026). Deficit discourse in health research in Aotearoa New Zealand: a medical student’s case for strengths-based and Kaupapa Māori approaches. New Zealand Medical Journal/Te ara tika o te hauora hapori, 139(1645), 121-127. doi: 10.26635/6965.7339 Journal - Research Other

Clark, M. T. R., Summers, N., Kane, J., Peters, S., Haitana, T., Williman, J., Huria, T., Pitama, S., & Patu, M. (2026). ‘Ka Mua, Ka Muri – Walking backwards into the future’: Quality assurance in Kaupapa Māori COVID-19 clinic: A case study of leadership insights from the MIHI Mobile Vaccination Clinici. AlterNative. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1177/11771801261491073 Journal - Research Article

Eaton, D., Kerdemelidis, M., Losco, G., Mark, S., Patu, M., Elliot, N., & Frampton, C. (2026). Cxbladder triage in haematuria assessment reduces time from referral to specialist assessment and bladder cancer treatment and Improves equity for Māori. ANZ Journal of Surgery. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1111/ans.70960 Journal - Research Article

Pearson, A., Cunningham, E., Kane, J., Troughton, R. W., Pearson, J. F., Lewis, L. K., Woodcock, E., Pemberton, C., McKerchar, C., & Patu, M. (2026). Hauora Manawa mō ngā Kaumātua me ngā Whānau: A co-designed community-based cohort study of cardiovascular health among older Māori in Canterbury, New Zealand: A study protocol. BMJ Open, 16(8), e120784. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2026-120784 Journal - Research Other

Patu, M. (2026, April-May). He Ara Tika: Leading equitable care in specialist services. Invited presentation at the Theatre Managers: Educators, PACU, Anaesthetic Technicians Conference: Leadership and Innovation in the Field, Christchurch, New Zealand. Conference Contribution - Verbal presentation and other Conference outputs

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