Kai Tiaki Nursing New Zealand

‘I’m quite resilient – I guess [it’s] years of being a nurse’

She survived a deadly attack and, most recently, a cyclone that destroyed her home. But mental health nurse Ra Kupa is determined to rebuild and get back to work -- and can still make strangers laugh.

Emotional exhaustion hits nurses, two weeks after Cyclone Gabrielle

Nurses in regions devastated by Cyclone Gabrielle are in a state of shock, coping with post-event trauma while continuing to work and support each other.

Coal-fired boilers gone by 2025, fleet electrified — Te Whatu Ora vows to meet climate obligations

Post-cyclone with more climate-change related extreme weather events predicted, plans for a carbon-neutral health system are being welcomed by health professionals -- and the role of nurses is crucial.

Napier campus likely to be closed for three months

Hawke's Bay nursing school staff are juggling clean up operations at home and at work in the wake of Cyclone Gabrielle's devastation, with their Napier campus likely to be closed for three months.

Nursing studies on hold as 90 per cent of Napier campus damaged in cyclone

Nursing students at Eastern Institute of Technology (EIT) say their programme is in limbo after the flood-damaged Hawke's Bay campus in Napier closed last week.

National anti-racism plan by the end of 2024

A national anti-racism action plan will be in place by the end of 2024, but doubts remain among some nurses about how effective it will be.

Nurse returns to work, days after losing everything in cyclone

A Hawke's Bay nurse who had to swim to safety from her flooded home and lost everything she owns in Cyclone Gabrielle was back on duty at Hawke's Bay Hospital four days later. 

Health and nursing workforce ‘top priority’, says new Health Minister Ayesha Verrall

'It's not rocket science, is it?' New Minister of Health Ayesha Verrall says fixing the nurse workforce will lift pressures on waiting lists, hospitals and aged care.

Thames Hospital staffing hit by cyclone road closures

Coromandel nurses who live on the east coast of the peninsula face an uncertain working future as Cyclone Gabrielle has wreaked havoc on the roads they travel to Thames Hospital.

Kaiwhakahaere among nurses forced to abandon flooded homes in cyclone

NZNO members are facing devastation and uncertainty as Cyclone Gabrielle continues its onslaught, with some left temporarily homeless and others stranded in regions without power and road access.  

‘We did it for awhi’ — nurses kick into action amid catastrophic floods

Delivering kai, nappies and making home visits -- nurses deliver wraparound care to flood-stricken Auckland communities.

Pay parity, pay equity for nurses: biggest challenges for new minister of health

NZNO leadership has praised new Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall for her “genuine approach”, while urging her to take swift action on pay parity – and outgoing Minister Andrew Little was thanked for “keeping door open and the conversation going”.

‘I feel like s…’ — vote for three per cent wage relief leaves sour taste

Desperate Whānau Āwhina Plunket members have voted to accept a three per cent lift in pay which they previously rejected, to stave off further financial hardship. They are now putting their hope in a pay parity top up which the Minister of Health has committed to.

Just one doctor at Thames Hospital – ‘a huge risk’

Thames Hospital ED normally has three day shifts for doctors, but recently this dropped to just one - a situation which left patients and staff vulnerable to serious adverse events, NZNO members say.*

Black Ferns take time out from celebrations to tautoko nurses

World Cup Rugby winners, the Black Ferns, took time out from their public celebrations to champion the cause of nurses in Wellington this month.

Report shows funding gap of nine per cent for general practices

As primary health care nurses grit their teeth to hold out for a better pay deal in the new year, a report commissioned by the interim health transition unit shows their employers are woefully underfunded.

New Zealand ‘preferred destination’ for overseas nurses after visa changes

Migrant nurses are welcoming the Government’s move to put them on the straight-to-residency visa – but say they should have been included from the start.

Strength ‘tinged with sadness’ — Lesley Elliott remembered by nursing colleagues

Kind, caring – and incredibly strong. That is how colleagues from the close-knit neonatal intensive care (NICU) at Dunedin Hospital remember Lesley Elliott.

Lumpectomy — an unflinching account of surviving breast cancer

'Why, when my cancer care was so excellent, did it also seem to miss so much of what is essential to health?' Tina Makereti shares an excerpt from her award-winning essay about surviving breast cancer.

Asthma: Thinking SMART, using AIR and making a difference

Nurses have an important role in asthma care, whether as prescribers, or as asthma educators in primary care, hospital clinics or with the Asthma and Respiratory Foundation. This article looks at the latest guidelines for asthma management and discusses strategies for reducing the disproportionate asthma burden in Māori and Pacific peoples.

How primary care can improve antimicrobial stewardship

Antimicrobial resistance — when pathogens develop resistance to drugs used to fight them — is a serious threat to health care in New Zealand and around the world. Antimicrobial stewardship — ie careful and appropriate use of antimicrobial drugs (including antibiotics) — is vital to preserving the effectiveness of these medicines. This article explains the … Continue reading "How primary care can improve antimicrobial stewardship"

Body clocks, the pandemic and NZ nursing histories — an intriguing line-up of books you can borrow

Histories of New Zealand nursing, experiences of the pandemic in Australia, the science of the body clock and its implications for shiftwork -- the NZNO library has something for you in its roster of new books.

‘My hands shake as I apologise for the millionth time’

An experienced nurse shares her struggles with IV cannulation.

Lives transformed by Mercy Ships’ surgical care

An Auckland nurse has completed her fifth tour of duty with Mercy Ships, and is inspired by the resilience of her patients who come from countries often lacking basic health care.

Grisly experiences drove history graduate into nursing

In the final of our NZNO board member profiles, Wellington perioperative nurse Simon Auty describes the grisly experiences that drove him to become a nurse.

NZ nurses wanted for research into perioperative nurse bullying

Does inter nurse bullying exist among perioperative nurses in Australia and New Zealand?

`Kōrero I wish I could’ve had with the Well Child nurse’

Wāhi Kōrero is a unique research project where patients share their stories of care that did not meet their needs, via an online story-sharing platform. In the first part of this project, young mothers share challenging accounts of their experiences with Well Child nurses.

FEBRUARY 2023 crossword

Print out the grid (using print tab at the bottom right of this page) and use the clues below. December’s answers are below the clues.