Dr Nani Tagaloa

Kia ora koutou katoa!  I am a Pain Specialist and Anaesthetist working at The Auckland Regional Pain Service (TARPS) and on Level 8, Auckland City Hospital. I trained as an anaesthetist in Dunedin and Auckland, New Zealand, and I did my Pain fellowship at Auckland Hospital and TARPS in 2014.

I took quite a long route to where I am now. Originally I wanted to become a surgeon, and I did five years basic training before switching to anaesthesia. Following my graduation as an anaesthetist in 2005, I worked for one year at National Women’s Hospital and then went to the US.  After a one-year clinical fellowship in The Department of Anesthesia at Stanford University in Obstetrical Anesthesia from 2007-08, and a stint as Assistant Clinical Professor  in Anesthesiology for the UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento, California for three years, I returned to New Zealand to work in Whanganui before commencing my pain fellowship. I have also worked part time in Palliative Care at Hospice Wanganui.

Having spent the last five years in pain practice, I have become increasingly interested in whole person healthcare, and the importance of holistic approaches to patient management in all areas. Reflecting on my own experience in medical school and training, I am also passionately interested in mentoring young physicians, particularly with the hope of helping to preserve their idealism and fostering their own personal growth.