From learner to lecturer – Muza navigates through the world of nursing

It was 2003 and Gladys Muza, a maths teacher, was becoming envious of her Zimbabwean friends’ travels across the world. She was ready for her own overseas adventures and wanted to head to the ‘adventure capital of the world’ – New Zealand.

Muza packed as much fun as possible into her first five years in New Zealand. In addition to exploring her adopted country, she got married and started a family. But she had always wanted to be a nurse.

In 2008, she took the first step towards achieving this dream and started a Bachelor of Nursing at Ara Institute of Canterbury. It was a busy three years of study; with one young child at home and another on the way, most of her studying had to be done at night.

Once she gained her nursing degree, Muza spent time working at Princess Margaret Hospital, Burwood Hospital, and on acute medical wards at Christchurch Public Hospital.

“Working with stroke rehabilitation patients at Burwood was the most rewarding for me – especially watching some of the patients, once bedridden, walk out the door to go home,” she says. “These patients inspired me to progress my studies and complete my Master of Nursing with the University of Otago. My final dissertation explored the impact of urinary incontinence on people who’d had a stroke,” Muza explains.

By 2020, Muza was looking for more of a challenge. Drawing on her experience as a maths teacher, she jumped at the opportunity to support Ara nursing students on clinical placement. The students usually start their clinical placements in rest homes. Once they’re comfortable in that environment, she says, they move to the acute medical wards at Christchurch Public or Burwood, then in their final year they might be placed at private hospitals.

Muza found teaching at Ara had many similarities to what she enjoyed most about nursing: helping people improve, helping them discover what is possible and watching them succeed.

Last year, Muza became a full-time lecturer for the Diploma in Enrolled Nursing. “Having more time on campus means I have an opportunity to understand the bigger picture, understand where Ara and the health industry are headed,” she says. “I also get to help and see people self-actualise! It’s really rewarding to be able to follow our students’ journeys, watching them grow in confidence and skill.”

As she begins work on her doctorate in nursing this year, growing her own skills is the next step of Muza’s life of adventure.