“Being able to mentor other people and help them grow in their careers is the part I enjoy the most,” he says.

Originally from Auckland, Andrew did a part-time Master’s in applied nursing at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington by distance between 1996 and 1999.

“This was one of the earliest courses where nurses could do a Master’s degree.”

Andrew trained in the 1980s when nurses were awarded a diploma. However, by the 1990s, nurses were being awarded degrees for the same programme. Looking for options to develop himself further to put himself on a par with degree holders for promotion and development, he looked to enrol at Massey University for a Master’s degree but was told he couldn’t do that with only part of a Bachelor’s degree.

“It was at that point that I approached Te Herenga Waka and they took a really pragmatic approach in evaluating what I had done up to that point and letting me enrol for a Master’s programme. That flexibility really paid off for me.”

By the time Andrew was working on his thesis in late 1998/early 1999, he had been involved with the guidelines movement and developing New Zealand guidelines for the management of people with chronic leg ulcers.

“Part of that work had identified a gap, in that there was evidence-based knowledge there but nobody used it in a way that allowed the evidence to be translated usefully into clinical practice. There were a number of trials of a drug (pentoxifylline) for treating venous leg ulcers but no one had summarised that evidence, so I did a systematic review and meta-analysis of that medication,” he explains.

This work was later published in the Cochrane Library and The Lancet.

“I was able to use something I’d been doing for work and translate that it into scholarly activity so it served two purposes. I think this is something most people can consider doing, especially given that nurses and other healthcare workers often pursue postgraduate study on a part-time basis.

“I think it’s more likely their research will have greater utility but it’s also likely to be less onerous and perhaps more engaging for the person.”

His Master’s qualification enabled him to successfully apply for a prestigious Health Research Council of New Zealand grant.

‘’This gave me a one year research sabbatical in the Clinical Trials Research Unit, which turned into a 20-year research career. It was my first award from any funder and was the first of more than 20 since.’’

“I think of my time at Te Herenga Waka as the foundation of my career as an academic and have very fond memories.”

While he was a student, Andrew recalls the mentoring support he received from Dr Jocelyn Peach, a former chief nurse of the Auckland Area Health Board, and currently director of nursing at the Waitematā District Health Board (check). She was undertaking a PhD at Te Herenga Waka, and was an informal advocate for the University’s programmes.

“What she was doing and talking about was extremely exciting.”

The long distance programme involved residential schools during the year, where students came to an intensive few days of courses. Unable to stay in the women’s only accommodation at that time, he “used to stay in a dive in Cuba Street, back when there were dives in Cuba Street.”

He recalls fond memories of sitting comfortably on beanbags listening to stimulating lectures in the graduate school for nursing and midwifery which at that time was “an old house done up in front of film and drama teaching spaces.’’

Lady Jocelyn Keith’s lecture on Florence Nightingale still stands out for him.

“Most people remembered Florence for setting up nursing services, as the lady with the lamp. But Jocelyn talked in terms of her being an epidemiologist and in particular, her mission during the Crimean War and the outcome, which was her report back on the British Army and causes of death during this war. The way she presented information was analogous to public health epidemiology as we know now.

‘’Jocelyn’s scholarship in that area has stuck with me ever since and I still talk about it.’’

Other nursing luminaries that inspired him included Alison Dixon, Jill White, and Irihapeti Merenia Ramsden.

Andrew retains connections to the University as a guest lecturer and visiting scholar for the graduate school.