Abstract:
It is critical that Indigenous health curricula are designed to effectively prepare graduates to contribute to reducing and eliminating inequities in health. Many of the required competencies are generic across health professions. Te Ara, an overarching graduate profile in Maori health, signals a shared approach to curriculum development across the four major undergraduate health programs at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. This article explains the rationale for Te Ara, describes its development and progress toward implementation, and foreshadows some of the challenges ahead. Drawing on the principles of outcome-based education and working collaboratively, the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences at the University of Auckland has adopted Te Ara, a graduate profile comprising seven high level learning outcomes in Maori health and an associated curriculum framework. Te Ara is now being used to map existing curricula as the basis for a more systematic approach to Maori health teaching, learning and assessment. Expected benefits of this approach include more transparent, comprehensive, and evidence-based curricula, greater opportunities for interprofessional learning, and potential for sharing of insights and knowledge across programs. However, a number of challenges need to be overcome to create an educational environment in which effective Maori health teaching and learning can occur. Principles and practical insights from this experience are broadly applicable in the area of Indigenous health and cultural competence education internationally.
