First in family to go to university, now a doctor from Aitutaki

Hailing from the villages of Amuri and Reureu in Aitutaki, Cook Islands, Jordan Teaukura (Amuri, Reureu) graduated from Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland in December 2022.

In 2023, the 23-year-old is moving to the Bay of Plenty to work in Tauranga Hospital.

Jordan grew up in Panmure and moved to the North Shore because of his his dad’s rugby league career. Entering university straight out of Westlake Boys High School, Jordan knew he wanted to do medicine from a young age. In doing so, he has become the first in his family to graduate from university and therefore the first to become a doctor. 

He recalls a story his mum told him about his early intentions to become a doctor.

“She said when my sister was four and we were at a birthday party, we had to write down a wish. I wrote mine and took it home. When my mum asked me what it was, I wouldn’t tell her because I wanted it to come true.

"When I finally did tell, she says my wish had been to cure my sister’s eczema. My sister had really bad eczema, and from birth to about five years old she was on steroid creams to suppress it. I was seven,” Jordan says.

From that point, there were a few things that stood out as clear moments of intention for Jordan.

At intermediate school, he did a dissection class that piqued his interest in anatomy. He was also a swim teacher for young children and saw the potential of helping them from having no skills to becoming great swimmers. He related that to medicine, seeing people at their most vulnerable and helping them back to health.

He says his parents, Nardia and Frederick, are his biggest role models and growing up he just wanted to be like them. Jordan’s journey to MAPAS came from the Māori and Pacific STEM day at his high school, where he was introduced to the programme. From there, he knew that once he had finished his school exams, he would apply for Med School. 

“My degree took six years, which was one year of general science and then five years of med. My first-year placement was in Rotorua and then fourth year was in Northland. I really enjoyed the smaller town placements.

"The biggest challenge for me as a student was figuring out my place in the hospital as a student; how the hospital works and the ever-changing runs, doing six weeks max in each area and adjusting to how each team works and likes things done, that was quite challenging.”

Jordan plans to head back to the Cook Island to work one day. After going home in May 2022, he decided he would return at some point to work after his two years of registration in New Zealand.

“There's nothing like being home and waking up and seeing your maunga," he says. "I have done the European OE type thing and it's just very different. Being home felt right and I was meeting new members of my family every day.

"Once I do my two years I will look at how I can work back home too."