Last month, 29-year-old John Fa'ukafa was awarded Young Nurse of the Year by the New Zealand Nurses Organisation.
Fa'ukafa is not your typical nurse - being a man of Tongan heritage.
According to the New Zealand Nurses Organisation, just four percent of nurses in the country are Pasifika.
RNZ Pacific's Finau Fonua spoke to John Faukafa about his experiences and the challenges he sees facing Pasifika in the nursing space.