Colleges & Sections – Kaitiaki Nursing New Zealand

April 2026

‘It’s important’ — mental health nurse battler never forgets the need for empathy

By Helen Garrick

March 18, 2026

Even in the face of police pullbacks, helping people at a time of crisis and vulnerability can be deeply fulfilling, says long-time mental health nurse Helen Garrick.

March 2026

Respiratory nurses raise ‘crucial’ voice on lung health in Aotearoa

By Jacquie Westenra

February 23, 2026

Jumping on a new national respiratory strategy group, catching up with the Minister of Health and doubling their committee members — NZNO’s respiratory nurses are not afraid to raise their voices for better lung health in Aotearoa. Chair Jacquie Westenra shares what’s been working for them.

December 2025

Stomal nursing — best job ever, says chair

By Maree Warne

December 19, 2025

Dealing with people’s “poos and wees” might seem challenging — but college of stomal therapy nursing chair Maree Warne loves her job.

November 2025

Skilled nurses crucial for cancer patient outcomes, says new college leader

By Heather Bustin

November 10, 2025

Nurses are hugely influential on cancer patient outcomes — but need time to expand their skills, says new chair of NZNO’s cancer nurses college (CNC) Heather Bustin.

November 2025

Nursing research a ‘slow burner’ but crucial tool, say NZNO’s deep thinkers

By Lorraine Ritchie

September 25, 2025

Nursing research is not just pen-pushing — it’s deeply connected to everyday nursing, says chair of NZNO’s nursing research section (NRS)- te wāhanga rangahau, Lorraine Ritchie.

September 2025

‘What we do matters’ — the heartbreaking work of neonatal nurses

By Juliet Manning and Michelle Willows

August 22, 2025

The most vulnerable New Zealander weights 350g — less than a packet of butter — and is currently being cared for in a neonatal unit. That newborn and their whānau deserve to be cared for by a skilled and specialist team, says NZNO’s ngā tapuhi whare kōhanga o Aotearoa – neonatal nurses college of Aotearoa.

August 2025

‘We like a steady climb’ — flight and land transport nurses on the up

By Lynette Will

July 25, 2025

NZNO college of air & surface transport nurses (COASTN) have fought long and hard for a voice on air ambulance restructuring — and they have won.

June 2025

‘I don’t know why everyone doesn’t want to work in aged care’ — college of gerontology nursing chair

By Bridget Richards

June 24, 2025

‘It’s about humanity’ — gerontology nursing leader Bridget Richards reckons aged care is incredibly fulfilling.

June 2025

Travel, camaraderie and superb hand hygiene — welcome to the world of perioperative nursing!

By Emma Ladley

May 27, 2025

NZNO’s perioperative nurses college (PNC) chair Emma Ladley wants to see more nursing students learn about perioperative nursing in their undergrad studies.

April 2025

Pacific nursing section is set to grow Aotearoa’s Pacific nursing workforce

By Ēseta Finau and Abel Smith

April 29, 2025

From supporting students to nurturing leaders, the Pacific nursing section (PNS) is working every angle to boost the numbers and skills of our Pacific nursing community, explains chair Ēseta Finau and treasurer Abel Smith.

March 2025

Raising the voice of specialist diabetes nurses — college steps up for patients

By Amanda de Hoop

April 1, 2025

Supporting post-graduate diabetes education, highlighting workforce shortages, and being visible — these are the aims of NZNO’s Aotearoa college of diabetes nurses, writes chair Amanda de Hoop.

March 2025

‘We can turn this around’: Nurses’ emotional plea for a safer health-care system

By Mary Longmore

March 17, 2025

Nurses can be change agents for a better health system, say leaders at NZNO’s 2025 college and section forum.

March 2025

Speaking out ‘daunting but worth it’ — nurses share wins, hopes and challenges

By Mary Longmore

March 17, 2025

More than 50 NZNO college and section members and staff gathered in Wellington earlier this month to share their mahi and figure out how to be the leading professional voice in their fields.

February 2025

‘We do give really great care’ — emergency nurses bear the weight of systemic failings

By Lauren Miller

February 28, 2025

NZNO’s college of emergency nurses (CENNZ) talks short-stay targets, the need for 24/7 security and their desire to provide safe care.

January 2025

Enrolled nurses finally recognised as skilled independent practitioners

By Michelle Prattley

January 17, 2025

Enrolled nurse section (ENS) chair Michelle Prattley explains why enrolled nurses will have more freedom to practise their nursing skills from January 20.

December 2024

‘It can be lonely’ — NZNO nursing leadership section wants to support all senior nurses

By the NZNO nursing leadership section committee

December 4, 2024

In the first of a new monthly viewpoint from NZNO colleges and sections, Kaitiaki talks to the nursing leadership section.

November 2024

National e-learning programme for critical care nurses now live

By Tania Mitchell

November 13, 2024

After 15 months of extraordinary work across the motu we now have the first national e-learning programme to help nurses new to critical care learn the ropes.

May 2024

Faster, fairer pathways for overseas nurses into New Zealand, says Nursing Council

By Mary Longmore

March 28, 2024

Concerns have been raised that newly streamlined pathways for internationally-qualified nurses (IQNs) into Aotearoa, New Zealand skip too lightly over cultural and clinical preparedness.

April 2024

When words fail: Why hasn’t anyone listened to nurses?

By Mary Longmore

March 27, 2024

Collective union action is the only way nurses will achieve safe staffing after years of being ignored, former director of the Safe Staffing Health Workplaces unit (SSHWU) Jane Lawless says.

April 2024

Stomal nurses conference brings patients, nurses and doctors together

By Marie Buchanan and Preeti Charan

March 25, 2024

A recent conference brought together both stomal therapy nurses and those who have experienced ostomies – abdominal surgery to allow bodily waste to exit when a disease of the digestive or urinary system is present.

Daily doses – uncut news

10 Apr	Chronic health care assistant short staffing harming vulnerable patients Te Whatu Ora’s attempt to cut costs by requiring health care assistants to carry out cohort patient watches is harming vulnerable patients and staff, NZNO says.
9 Apr	New group education clinics speeding up knee and hip surgery care Health New Zealand is rolling out a new group education approach for people waiting for hip and knee surgery in north and west Auckland, resulting in more patients being seen sooner.
25 Mar	National Diabetes Roadmap launched to improve care, prevention, and quality of life Health New Zealand has launched a new National Diabetes Roadmap (‘the Roadmap’) to improve care, strengthen prevention, and support better health outcomes and quality of life for people living with diabetes.
24 Mar	ACT should leave nursing to professionals and medical evidence Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa NZNO Kaiwhakahaere Kerri Nuku says ACT MP Todd Stephenson has dismissed the Nursing Council’s draft code of conduct - which proposes strengthening cultural safety, whānau-centred care and te Tiriti o Waitangi obligations - as political ideology.
23 Mar	UK report reflects ICN warnings on international recruitment ripoff — now countries must act together The International Council of Nurses (ICN) warmly welcomes a new report from the UK All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Global Health and Security that recognizes the huge sums saved by high-income countries who recruit abroad and acknowledges the severe harms caused by unethical recruitment from fragile source countries left without nurses.
20 Mar	HPV self-test boosts cervical cancer screening ‘across the board’, new study confirms Making human papillomavirus (HPV) self-testing available to all women increases the number of people screened for cervical cancer, a new study led by researchers from Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington has confirmed.
19 Mar	ICN at CSW70: Violence against nurses is a gendered crisis threatening global health The International Council of Nurses (ICN) has warned that violence against nurses is a global gendered crisis that threatens health systems, patient safety and workforce sustainability
17 Mar	Additional winter health care workers a drop in the ocean of need The Government’s announcement today of 378 extra staff to help hospitals cope with winter demand is a drop in the ocean of what patients need, NZNO says.
12 Mar	Funding change will ensure more consistent emergency care for New Zealanders A simple change in how ambulance medicines are funded is set to create more consistent emergency care.
9 Mar	Questions over dilapidated and cramped renal unit forced to ration dialysis The Health Minister must explain why after years of concerns from nurses about Christchurch Hospital’s barely functioning dialysis unit, he only stepped in late yesterday when life-saving treatment had to be rationed, NZNO says.
3 Mar	Hospitals and health workers should never be targets The right of health care workers to provide care during international conflicts must be protected, Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa NZNO says.
2 Mar	Public and Mental Health Nurses settle collective agreement Health New Zealand welcomes the ratification of the two Public Service Association (PSA) Public and Mental Health Nurses collective employment agreements for Auckland and the Rest of New Zealand.
27 Feb	Whakatāne Hospital to resume secondary obstetrics and gynaecology services Whakatāne Hospital will resume secondary obstetrics and gynaecology services from 8am on 13 April 2026.
26 Feb	Counsellors warn NZ is normalising crisis levels of youth distress Youth mental distress has become entrenched, suicide remains a national tragedy, and our systems are failing to intervene early enough, says the New Zealand Association of Counsellors (NZAC).
26 Feb	Record uptake nearly doubles advanced nurse education scholarships A record 235 primary care registered nurses will begin advanced education this year – nearly doubling the number originally planned – following strong demand for the Government’s new Registered Nurse Primary Care Scholarships, Health Minister Simeon Brown says.
19 Feb	‘Top Up’ to deliver faster access to support Seven grassroots mental health initiatives supporting small and hard-to-reach communities have received funding to deliver faster access to support, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey announced today.
18 Feb	Pharmac proposes funding new treatments that could transform early care for people with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia, a type of blood cancer People in New Zealand living with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) could soon benefit from funded access to targeted treatments under a new proposal from Pharmac.
13 Feb	Te Whatu Ora’s embarrassing U-turn over proposed car park plan Te Whatu Ora needs to go back to the drawing board and prioritise worker safety after reversing plans to charge hospital workers market rates for car parks, NZNO says.
11 Feb	Stark differences in COVID-19 vaccination rates between Māori and non-Māori, research finds A new study analysing COVID-19 vaccine uptake has found markedly lower vaccination rates among Māori, which researchers link to existing inequities in healthcare access.
9 Feb	ICN’s call for International Nurses Day 2026: empower nurses to save lives ICN has announced the theme for International Nurses Day (IND) 2026: Our Nurses. Our Future. Empowered Nurses Save Lives. This focus sends a clear message that to maximize the full life-saving impact of the nursing workforce, we must empower nurses with safe, fair work environments and full nursing practice, influence, and leadership.
5 Feb	Global nurse leaders gather in Japan to address urgent workforce crisis Nursing leaders from Japan and around the world are gathering in Yokohama this week for two major nursing events that are advancing the global conversation on how countries can protect, retain and invest in their nursing workforce as pressures mount across health systems worldwide.
4 Feb	Midwives to deliver more vaccinations to help protect families Midwives are now able to offer a wider range of funded immunisations, supporting families from pregnancy through the early months of a child’s life, Health Minister Simeon Brown says.
30 Jan	Opening of E Tū Wairua Hinengaro – Mason Clinic Health New Zealand has marked the opening of E Tū Wairua Hinengaro, a new purpose-built facility at Auckland’s Mason Clinic designed to strengthen and modernise forensic mental healthcare in Aotearoa.
29 Jan	NZNO disgusted by nurse’s killing in the US Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa NZNO has expressed disgust at the shooting and killing of nurse Alex Pretti on a Minneapolis, US street on Saturday morning by federal officers.
27 Jan	New national group forms to support public healthcare in Aotearoa Kaitiaki Hauora - Together for Public Health has been formed as a national group bringing together patients, health workers, iwi and Māori health representatives, unions, advocacy organisations, and community groups, with backing from a growing number of organisations across the health sector.
22 Jan	Pharmac proposes to fund life changing treatments for people with cystic fibrosis Pharmac is proposing to fund new treatment options for people living with cystic fibrosis with eligible mutations, including young children, from 1 April 2026.
05 Jan	Nurses pay tribute to Dame Poutasi The passing of Dame Karen Poutasi has seen Aotearoa lose one of its foremost health leaders and a woman of high integrity, Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa NZNO Kaiwhakahaere Kerri Nuku says.