A career born out of a challenge

Swinitha Brown. Image: Strike Photography.

A TRAGIC family accident more than a decade ago led Swinitha Brown to work in health.

Swinitha (Rongowhakaata, Te Āitanga-a-Māhaki, Te Aitanga a Hauiti, Ngāti Maru) has been a Turanga Health community nurse for three months but her nursing journey began in 2001.

She’d finished her second year of law school when her father was in a car accident. "My dad ended up paralysed due to a medical misadventure and was sent to Burwood Spinal Unit in Christchurch. They were absolutely brilliant and it inspired me."

Swinitha decided she wanted to provide the same level of care her dad received at Burwood for others, and prevent more families from receiving inadequate care."I’d always been brought up to treat others how you would like to be treated, so I decided I wanted to give back."

She’s been a registered nurse for nearly nine years and worked at Chelsea and Gisborne Hospital.
Growing up in Gisborne, Swinitha attended Awapuni Primary School and Gisborne Intermediate. She attended high school in Otago and later at Te Aute College.

Being part Māori (her mother is a descendant of the Scottish Colquhoun clan) Swinitha was drawn to Turanga Health. "I wanted to be out there more with people in their homes."

Swinitha had heard good things about Turanga Health before applying for the job and as she’d always wanted to work for a Māori organisation, the move made sense. "Everyone gets on with one another and there’s no tension or stress. It is just amazing and I absolutely love it.”

Job flexibility and no night shift is important to Swinitha as she is mum to six-year-old Kruz. As the ninth of 10 children in her family, having an only child broke the mould. "But he makes up for at least seven kids, seriously. He’s really adventurous so we do heaps of fun stuff together." Among their hobbies are surfing at Okitu Beach, playing guitar, and singing together. Swinitha also enjoys spending time with partner Neil.

Recently Swinitha finished a small business management course at Te Wananga o Aōtearoa. "I really wanted to to do it for the management papers because I’m interested in nursing practitioner study."

Turanga Health welcomes Swinitha Brown.

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