MAPAS Values — Motivation and Whakapapa Connection

Hidden so they don't bias your answer. Score yourself first, then reveal them to compare.

• This question probes authenticity and depth — interviewers can distinguish a rehearsed answer from a genuine one. Speak specifically: name the community you are connected to, name a concrete experience (a family member's health encounter, a community health event you attended, an injustice you witnessed), and link it to what kind of doctor you want to be. Vague answers ('I want to help people') will not distinguish you. MAPAS is not looking for the most impressive CV; it is looking for genuine community rootedness.
• Whakapapa means genealogy in the broad sense — the layered relationships connecting people to each other, to ancestors, and to land. In a clinical context, understanding whakapapa helps a doctor understand why a patient might be reluctant to discuss certain topics, why whānau involvement matters, and how historical trauma (colonisation, land alienation, institutional racism) shapes current health behaviours. You do not need to be Māori to engage with this concept respectfully — but you do need to have learned about it.
• Community accountability means that your success as a doctor is measured not just by your individual competence but by your contribution to collective wellbeing. This is intrinsically motivating for many MAPAS applicants and is why Māori and Pacific doctors have better access to hard-to-reach populations. Strong answers link this value back to health equity: NZ has persistent health disparities that cannot be solved by clinical excellence alone — the workforce must reflect and be accountable to the communities it serves.