What makes hospice different?

North Haven Hospice regularly hosts House Officers.  A house officer is a doctor that hasn’t yet begun speciality training once they have finished medical school.  They may spend some time working at a hospital or other health provider for three years before deciding what type of doctor they would like to be.

Dr Maia Tipene explains her experience with North Haven Hospice and how she sees a difference.

How has working at North Haven Hospice impacted you?

North Haven Hospice has shaped not only my career, but my being too.  The losses within my own whānau – my dad, my uncles, aunties, and others both young and old – have always shaped my walk alongside death, dying and grief.  But it was here, at hospice, that I truly came to understand its essence.

Here I saw that death is not simply an ending, but a sacred transition.  That aroha and compassion can soften even the harshest edges of loss.  That grief, while heavy, can also be beautiful when carried together.

How is care at hospice different?

In less than 2 years as a doctor, I feared I was already losing my softness.  The fatigue, the pressures, the relentlessness of hospital life can harden you.  But here, I was reminded to pause, to breathe, to feel.  To not be afraid of forming connections, and to not fear mourning the loss of a patient I cared for more deeply than the paper records would ever show.

What have you learnt working at North Haven Hospice?

Hospice has taught me that compassion is never wasted – not for patients, not for whānau, not for colleagues, and not for myself.

Hospice gave me the grace and gentleness I needed, in a way the hospital so often cannot. Here, I was reminded that places like this heal in many ways medicine never can – offering not just care, but a sanctuary where one can truly feel seen, heard and held.  Thank you for showing me that even in a world that demands hardness, it is safe, and necessary, to remain soft.

Dr Maia gifted North Haven Hospice a manu tukutuku (a traditional Māori kite) at the end of her time spent here.  “Manu” means bird or kite, while “tukutuku” speaks to the line released as it climbs.

What is the meaning behind your gift?

A kite cannot rise alone; it is lifted by the wind and held steady by the hands that guide it. In the same way, the patients and whānau who seek your care rise lovingly through the arms that carry them – your aroha, your compassion, your presence.  You are the line, the wind, the steady hands.

North Haven Hospice thanks Dr Maia for her beautiful words and allowing us to share them. Sometimes it is the person coming in from the outside that can truly express what we do and how we do it, better than we can do this ourselves.

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