A Porirua-raised Māori-Pasifika doctor is using social media to inspire young people to see a future for themselves in medicine and surgery.
Dr Kyla Matenga, now based at Tauranga Hospital, has built a growing online audience by openly sharing her pathway toward becoming an orthopaedic surgeon. Her posts document the realities of surgical training alongside everyday life, fitness and whānau time.
Matenga has been a practising doctor since 2019 and is on track to qualify as an orthopaedic surgeon within the next four to five years. Orthopaedics focuses on injuries and conditions affecting bones, joints and movement.
She told NZ Herald she began sharing her journey online because Māori and Pasifika are still underrepresented in surgical specialties.
“I wanted to put myself out there so other young, particularly Māori and Pasifika, girls see me and think: ‘Well, she can do it, why can’t I?’” she said.
Matenga shares her journey on Instagram at
https://www.instagram.com/kylamatenga/
Her account has more than 36,000 followers and features content from inside the hospital, including long operating days, alongside early morning CrossFit training sessions and moments from her life outside work.
She said being honest about the workload and discipline required was important for young people considering medicine.
Her posts also show how she structures her days to balance surgical training with wellbeing, often starting at 5am to train before work.
“That’s a non-negotiable for me. It kind of sucks. I’m tired. But it means my work doesn’t steal my time from me,” she told NZ Herald.
Matenga said she plans her life in short blocks, working out what needs to be prioritised at different times.
“Work out which one you want to prioritise and what other things you have to sacrifice,” she said.
She said the response to her social media presence had surprised her, with messages arriving from medical students and rangatahi across Aotearoa and overseas.
Many have told her that seeing someone who looks like them in a surgical pathway has helped make the goal feel achievable.
As a Māori and Pasifika woman, Matenga said representation mattered for both patients and those coming through the medical system.
She said patients had told her she was the first Māori doctor they had seen, reinforcing how important visibility could be in building trust and confidence.
Her advice to Māori and Pasifika students considering medicine was to stay true to themselves.
“Don’t shrink yourself to try to fit the mould. Find your people, keep asking questions, and know that you are needed truthfully and not as a polished version of yourself,” she said.
Matenga said her main motivation for continuing to post was the hope that it might help open doors for others.
“Maybe I’m opening the doors for others to think it’s possible. That has been the main motivator for why I post,” she said.
For Porirua, her story is one of local roots and wider impact, with a hometown doctor using social media to encourage the next generation to aim high and see themselves in medicine.