Suzanne G. Pitama | |
---|---|
Alma mater | University of Otago, Christchurch |
Awards | AKO Aotearoa Prime Minister's Supreme Award for tertiary teaching excellence Dame Joan Metge Medal for research in social sciences Dame Marie Clay Award (2023) |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Māori indigenous health |
Institutions | University of Otago, Christchurch |
Thesis | |
Doctoral advisor | Tim Wilkinson Catherine Savage Pauline Barnett |
Suzanne Georgina Pitama is a New Zealand academic, is Māori, of Ngāti Kahungunu and Ngāti Whare descent and as of 2020 is a full professor at the University of Otago in Christchurch, New Zealand. [1]
Pitama was educated at Wairoa College, and qualified in psychology at University of Auckland. She then undertook postgraduate and doctoral studies at Massey University and the University of Otago. [2]
Pitama was already a registered clinical psychologist before she completed the first-ever PhD undertaken in indigenous medical education, submitting her thesis, "As natural as learning pathology": the design, implementation and impact of indigenous health curricula within medical schools, [3] at the University of Otago in 2013. Pitama was promoted to full professor from February 2020. [1] [4] In December 2021, she was appointed Dean and Head of Campus at the University of Otago, Christchurch, effective February 2022. [5]
Pitama's research focuses on indigenous experiences in the health system, and how medical education can improve health disparities. [1] [6]
In 2015, Pitama received the AKO Aotearoa Prime Minister's Supreme Award for tertiary teaching excellence. [7] In 2017 Pitama featured as one of the Royal Society Te Apārangi's 150 women in 150 words. [6] Pitama was also awarded the 2018 Metge Medal for 'excellence and building relationships in the social science research community'. [8] Pitama was also awarded the 2023 Dame Marie Clay Award by the New Zealand Psychological Society. [9]
Pitama is the Director of the Māori/Indigenous Health Institute (MIHI) at the University of Otago. [10]
In February 2022, she became university's first Māori female Dean of a medical school campus, when she became the Dean and Head of Campus at the University of Otago, Christchurch. [11]