When a flight attendant called for a medical professional on a Fiji-bound airplane, Alvi Idicula didn’t hesitate.
The Thames Hospital-based nurse practitioner assessed the distressed patient, saw he was having a stroke, and liaised with Fiji medics via satellite phone until the plane landed.
It wasn’t the first time Alvi had interrupted his holiday to offer medical assistance. On a trip to Hamilton, he pulled over to help with a cardiac arrest patient on the side of the road. Another time, he stopped to help with a bike crash.
These incidents were just some of the many reasons for Alvi’s recognition at the Malayalam FM Community Awards, held in Auckland on February 21.
Alvi was one of three finalists for the Best Malayali Male Nurse Award, and received a special jury mention for his excellence, compassion and leadership not only in the healthcare system, but also in the Malayali community.
Alvi has certainly earned the honour.
Alongside his full-time job as a nurse practitioner, he is also heavily involved in his community. He is the manager for the Thames Strikers Club, sits on the St Francis School board, and helped organise the recent Hearts in Harmony cultural festival. He is actively involved in both the local Indian and Malayalam communities, working to keep the culture alive among younger generations. He teaches a post-graduate nursing paper at The University of Waikato. And he has been invited as a guest speaker to several conferences, including International Nurses Day in the Waikato, the World Nursing Conference in Dubai, and the Nurse Practitioners Conference in Queenstown.
Alvi said everything he does is out of passion for his community.
“Every nurse gives their 100 per cent, you know.”
“There’s nothing special I do about it,” he told The Profile.
“My heart is that community. And it just happens that nursing is an outlet for that community.”
Alvi moved to Thames from India in 2010, and quickly fell in love with the rural town.
“I don’t think there was another Indian in the hospital,” he said.
“And the people were so helpful, they knew that culture shock and they made sure I was well looked after. The people of Thames are why I’m still here.”
Alvi has worked in the emergency department ever since, and is now the first qualified nurse practitioner at the hospital.
“There is room to think differently. And that’s where my heart is – let’s train nurses so that we can create an effective health system,” he said.
“Recently I travelled to Tokoroa to train the nurses over there so they can do minor skills and procedures to free the doctors up… Thinking smartly and working efficiently is my motto.”
When he’s not on the clock, Alvi’s efforts go towards his voluntary work. The Thames Strikers sports and cultural club, which was established a couple of years ago, is one of his main focuses.
“Thames Strikers is the first [Indian] rural sports club in New Zealand,” he said.
“We needed something for the kids that’s just not studies. We needed a platform where kids can hone their skills in extracurricular activities. Because if we don’t show these younger generations the traditions and cultures, it’s going to die away.
“It’s not just cricket. There is badminton, volleyball, there’s basketball. We were able to do school holiday programmes, free.
“And very recently, we did a major cricket tournament in Thames.”
Alvi said he could not have achieved all he had without the support of his family, the Indian and Malayalam community, the doctors and nurses at the hospital, and the nursing management team.
“This is not a nursing award at all, it’s a community award,” he said.
“And everything happens in big cities, so to represent Thames on such a big platform – I was over the moon.”
