Doctor defies nasty critics

Jordan Tewhaiti-Smith is sometimes asked why he isn’t a patched-up member of the Mongrel Mob.

‘‘To be honest I don’t think I would fit the facade,’’ the 23-yearold, who is about to graduate as a doctor, said.

Growing-up around the gang – his father and several uncles were members – was a ‘‘normal’’ part of his childhood.

Tewhaiti-Smith (Nga¯ ti Kahungunu, Nga¯i Tahu, Nga¯ Puhi) will join 38 other Ma¯ori medical graduands taking part in Te Hika Pounamu, a Ma¯ ori pregraduation celebration, in Dunedin today before the main graduation tomorrow.

‘‘Just because my dad’s a Mongrel Mob member and I’m Ma¯ori doesn’t mean I can’t do anything like the rest of the population.’’

His parents and had been his biggest supporters, along with his wider wha¯ nau, and he was a firm believer that ‘‘not one person raises a child, it is a village’’.

Tewhaiti-Smith has spent the past six years studying towards a bachelor of medicine and a bachelor of surgery at the University of Otago School of Medicine. The course had been ‘‘bloody hard’’.

During his studies he had been called a ‘‘dumb Ma¯ori’’, and encountered accusations of preferential treatment.

The negative interactions only inspired him to say ‘‘well, I’ll show you’’.

‘‘I flipped it and used it as my motivation.’’

As a student, he made national headlines for using his family’s gang connections for a groundbreaking new study on the health of the Mongrel Mob.

Dozens of Mongrel Mob members, affiliates and extended family had their liver health assessed by University of Otago researchers.

‘‘Nothing surprised me, because I grew up with this, but some of the rest of the team expressed surprise at how welcomed they were,’’ TewhaitiSmith told The Press in the 2018 interview.

His own medical journey was driven by witnessing the inequities in Ma¯ ori health, particularly after his sister Tia was born at 24 weeks’ gestation.

Tewhaiti-Smith, who was 15 at

Jordan Tewhaiti-Smith was part of a groundbreaking study that utilised his gang connections to assess the health of Mongrel Mob members.

the time, recalled visiting his sister in Dunedin Hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit every day after school for four months. His grandmothers also became ill about the same time.

‘‘There was a lot of judgement from doctors and nurses due to us being Ma¯ ori. There were also a lot of negative perceptions within our family about the health system and what it had to offer and that it didn’t really work for us.’’

Support from his wha¯ nau and Kia Ora Hauora – the national Ma¯ ori health workforce development

Jordan Tewhaiti-Smith

programme – helped with his success at university and made him want to ‘‘give something back’’.

Tewhaiti-Smith is part of an increasing number of Ma¯ori doctors graduating from Otago’s School of Medicine.

Just eight Ma¯ori doctors graduated in 1999, while this year there are 38 provisional graduands.

Tewhaiti-Smith has secured a job at Christchurch Hospital, where he will spend six months doing general medicine, then general surgery and ear nose and throat healthcare, as part of his ongoing training.

‘‘I want to change the outlook that Ma¯ ori have within the health system in New Zealand,’’ he said.

‘‘As a clinician ... that’s where I can make a difference.’’

‘‘Just because my dad’s a Mongrel Mob member and I’m Ma¯ori doesn’t mean I can’t do anything like the rest of the population.’’