Features – Kaitiaki Nursing New Zealand

October 2026

‘I don’t like to be silenced’: NZNO’s new student leaders reveal what drives them

By Mary Longmore

October 16, 2026

Connected by a desire to care for others and push for change, NZNO’s newest student leaders are not afraid to speak up.

September 2026

‘I won’t give up’, says enrolled nurse graduate working on building site

By Mary Longmore

October 10, 2026

Enrolled nurse graduates are working as bartenders, baristas and builders in Taranaki because of a lack of nursing jobs — and ‘outdated attitudes’ about what ENs can do.

September 2026

‘We weren’t classmates, we were whānau’: Matariki nursing grads celebrate at marae

By Joel Maxwell

October 9, 2026

It still brings tears to Jeanette Grace’s eyes.

October 2026

Selling out health: One in four GP clinics in NZ now corporate-owned

By Joel Maxwell

October 8, 2026

Corporations “buying up clinics everywhere”, private health ‘cream-skimming’ and hidden debt for tax payers were revealed by NZNO senior strategic researcher Nathalie Jaques at this year’s annual conference.

September 2026

‘Overwhelming sense of betrayal’ — abuse survivors’ fight continues

By Mary Longmore

October 6, 2026

There was a devastated silence after abuse survivor Neta Kerepeti read her poem White man, White coat, and Stethoscope dissecting in excruciating detail how she was abused as a child in state care.

September 2026

Anatomy of victory — how North Shore ED members got their huge staffing win

By Joel Maxwell

October 1, 2026

There’s a particular challenge in the night shift at the North Shore Hospital emergency department (ED) — pressure on nurses ratcheting up as the hours pass.

September 2026

Members emerge from NZNO conference vowing to ‘fight, fight, fight’ for a safer health system

By Kaitiaki coeditors

September 30, 2026

There was a vibe.

September 2026

‘We are committed to cultural safety,’ promises new Nursing Council chair — but is it the Māori kind?

By Mary Longmore

September 15, 2026

Nursing Council chair Sharon Brownie says the regulator is committed to cultural safety — but what kind remains unclear.

‘We are committed to cultural safety,’ promises new Nursing Council chair — but is it the Māori kind?

August 2026

She’s nursed two decades, gets paid at a third-year rate: Why these nurses went on strike

By Joel Maxwell

August 24, 2026

Most days they’re alone with just a cellphone, supplies and their car — constantly moving — but on one day they stopped and stood together.

August 2026

‘We need to take up space’: Rōpū means handful of Māori nurse PhD students not alone

By Mary Longmore

July 24, 2026

A small but passionate rōpū of Māori nurses undertaking doctoral study through Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland, has formed a supportive whānau that stretches across Aotearoa.

August 2026

Hitting the self-belief switch: NP intern Turuhira Marino on ditching doubts

By Joel Maxwell

July 20, 2026

Turuhira Marino is completing an internship to become a nurse practitioner, but has already become fully-qualified in believing in herself.

July 2026

Why stop at 65? Nurse extraordinaire Ros Corban on working into her 80s

By Joel Maxwell

June 26, 2026

Back then new nurses wore starched dresses, starched hats, belts, thick white stockings, white shoes and the lingering fear of doctors and fierce ward sisters.

June 2026

A journey shaped by determination, sacrifice, and purpose — Mele Penu’s path to EN

By Ceasar Jr. Beltran

May 20, 2026

What does it take to be a role model for your daughter and grow your nursing career? Enrolled nurse Mele Penu shares her story of resilience, perseverance, and sacrifice.

May 2026

Presence and absence in aged residential care: The quiet reality of loneliness and isolation

By Adetoun Oyekunle

April 13, 2026

Nurse and researcher Adetoun Oyekunle reflects on the daily loneliness she’s witnessed among aged-care residents.

May 2026

‘Not a birthday I expected to see’ — nurse, patient and professor Jacquie Kidd on stage-four cancer and racism

By Mary Longmore

April 9, 2026

When poet, nurse and Māori health professor Jacquie Kidd, Ngāpuhi, talks to me, it is her 63rd birthday.

April 2026

‘It’s never too late to be what you might have been’ — Ros Rowarth on 50 years of nursing

By Joel Maxwell

March 30, 2026

Somewhere her colleagues miss her, and are gently easing themselves into her absence, somewhere there’s a former patient who gave her an emotional slap in the face that set her on the path to new growth in her 50s. Somewhere there’s a set of red epaulettes that she proudly attached to her first nursing uniform.

April 2026

‘So many hospitals are being attacked’: Myanmar doctor seeks NZNO nursing know-how

By Joel Maxwell

March 13, 2026

Cynthia Maung is a Myanmar refugee, a doctor and a leader who started her clinic using a rice-cooker as a steriliser. Now she’s keen to upskill her local nursing workforce with NZNO’s help.

April 2026

Expect more hacks, but ‘no going back’ warns nurse and health information expert

By Joel Maxwell

March 8, 2026

The shiny new digital world of health care in 2026 is starting to look a lot like the dusty old world of the Wild West — even the names are recycled, reveals Karen Day.

February 2026

Ka whai wā te tapuhi nei ki te whāngai i ngā tini e haere mai nei ki Rātana

By Renee Kiriona

January 26, 2026

E hia manomano tāngata Māori, kaiārahi tōrangapū, Māngai Pāremata hoki puta noa i te whenua e whakarite ana mō ngā whakanuitanga ā-tau i Rātana kia whakanui i tō te rangatira hāhi whānautanga. Ā, kei waenganui i a rātou tētahi tapuhi hōhipera kiriwhakapōtae e whāngaia ana te tini.

February 2026

Nurse finds time to feed masses heading to Rātana

By Renee Kiriona

January 22, 2026

Thousands of Māori people throughout the country, political leaders and MPs are gearing up for the annual Rātana commemorations to celebrate the birth of the church’s founder. And a graduate hospital nurse will be among those who feed them.

20 Oct	Winners of the 2026 NZ Primary Healthcare Awards \| He Tohu Mauri Ora announced Over 600 supporters of primary care gathered at the Auckland's Viaduct Events Centre on Saturday night for a glittering gala dinner for the 2026 New Zealand Primary Healthcare Awards \| He Tohu Mauri Ora.
19 Oct	Te Whatu Ora must fully staff vital Starship Children's Hospital wards Te Whatu Ora must fully staff all wards at Starship Children's Hospital including four vital wards which are short of a total of 18 full-time nurses, NZNO says.
16 Oct	Paid placements policy will help boost nursing workforce A policy to pay nursing students a weekly allowance while they're on clinical placements will help them graduate and boost Aotearoa New Zealand's homegrown nursing workforce, NZNO says.
5 Oct	Labour's pay rise a first step, but pay equity needs a full settlement Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa NZNO has welcomed Labour's promised pay rise for care and support workers as a first step. It says care and support workers now need a full settlement of their pay equity claim and a workable pay equity system for all of its members.
1 Oct	Health NZ releases first national report on serious adverse events Health New Zealand has published its first national Serious Adverse Event Report, acknowledging the serious harm experienced by patients and whānau and outlining the improvements identified and actions underway to strengthen patient safety. The report covers serious adverse events reported in Hospital and Specialist Services between 1 July and 31 December 2025.
25 Sept	380 more health care workers at the end of winter too little too late An announcement of 380 additional nurses, midwives and health care assistants for hospitals around the country at the end of winter is too little too late, NZNO says.
23 Sept	Auckland University research finds nurse shortages increase post-surgery deaths and complications New research by Auckland University has found addressing nurse shortages in post-operative care may save 182 lives a year because short-staffed wards have higher rates of potentially preventable deaths and complications after their surgeries.
21 Sept	Whanganui Hospital ED averaged 680% capacity over a week Working in an overcrowded emergency department (ED), up to 680% capacity over a week, makes staff feel overwhelmed with the pressure, Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa NZNO says.
14 Sept	WellSouth's Newborn Enrolment Kahu Taurima Programme a finalist at the Primary Care Awards 2026 WellSouth's Newborn Enrolment Kahu Taurima Programme is a finalist at the Primary Care Awards for the HALEO Best Supplier Service, Product or Campaign category. Winners will be announced on 17 October.
14 Sept	Global Study: Nursing Shortages Require Workforce Policy Solutions, Not Recruitment Campaigns Alone Why people choose nursing, and why they leave, comes down to the same factors. The global nursing shortage cannot be solved simply by encouraging more people to enter the profession, according to a new evidence brief.
8 Sept	Overworked, understaffed Gisborne ED staff strike Health and safety concerns arising from unsafe staffing levels have forced nurses at Gisborne Hospital’s emergency department (ED) to go on strike.
4 Sept	Strong growth in wāhine Māori and Pacific women’s cervical screening rates highlights success of self-testing programme Cervical screening participation has increased significantly for both wāhine Māori and Pacific women, reflecting the strong impact of self-testing, Screening Services and the dedicated efforts of health providers working alongside their communities.
4 Sept	Government must adopt Wai 2713 recommendations on disability system The Coalition Government must urgently adopt new recommendations from the Waitangi Tribunal which has found significant parts of the disability system prejudice tāngata whaikaha Māori (Māori with disabilities), NZNO says.
31 Aug	Employing graduate nurses will help keep them in nursing and the country A new proposal that will require Te Whatu Ora to offer all eligible graduate nurses jobs in the public health system will help keep them in nursing and in Aotearoa New Zealand, NZNO says.
26 Aug	Health Minister’s claim Winter Plan ‘managing well’ delusional Health Minister Simeon Brown’s claim that hospitals are ‘managing well’ because of the Government’s Winter Plan is delusional, NZNO says.
25 Aug	Hospital data shows nursing shortages continue to put patients at risk Te Whatu Ora data released today shows patients are continuing to be put at risk by the Coalition Government’s deliberate failure to safely staff hospital wards, NZNO says.
24 Aug	Fed-up North Shore ED staff declare state of emergency NZNO members working in the emergency department (ED) at North Shore Hospital have declared a state of emergency due to unsafe staffing levels resulting in ongoing overcrowding.
19 Aug	What happened to the winter health plan? The $25 million 2026 Winter Plan launched by Health Minister Simeon Brown in March to erase pressure on the health system has been an unmitigated disaster, Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa NZNO says.
11 Aug	Applications open for advanced nursing education programmes Health New Zealand is encouraging registered nurses to apply for two advanced education programmes that support nurses to further develop their clinical skills and expand access to care in communities across New Zealand.
3 Aug	Health New Zealand welcomes settlement of NZRDA collective agreement Health New Zealand welcomes the vote by New Zealand Resident Doctors Association (NZRDA) members to settle their collective agreement.
30 Jul	Backing our frontline rural health workforce Rural communities across New Zealand will benefit from three new investments that will support the rural health workforce and help more people access care closer to home, Associate Health Minister Matt Doocey says.
22 Jul	Te Whatu Ora must disclose staffing levels at time of tragic death Te Whatu Ora must disclose whether the Waikato emergency department (ED) was short-staffed at the time a man tragically died in the waiting room, NZNO says.
6 Jul	Reflecting on IND 2026 Looking back on last month’s International Nurses Day 12 May 2026 (IND 2026), the impact of this year's theme "Our Nurses. Our Future. Empowered Nurses Save Lives" continues to resonate across the world. ICN’s landmark IND 2026 report defined seven key powers of nursing and this message has been strengthened with nurses in every region celebrating, naming, and owning their powers throughout May.
3 Jul	Health New Zealand acknowledges Ombudsman statement on Wakari Ward 10A Health NZ welcomes the independent investigation by the Ministry of Health into Ward 10A. On Wednesday the Health NZ board agreed to close Wakari Ward 10a as a forensic intellectual disability (ID) unit, with the future use of the ward yet to be determined.
2 Jul	New programme to fast track bowel cancer care and cut colonoscopy waitlists Health New Zealand is today launching a national initiative, designed to fast track bowel cancer care and reduce colonoscopy waitlists by up to 30 per cent.
1 Jul	Six new Co-Response Team locations announced to strengthen support for people in mental distress The next six locations for Health New Zealand and NZ Police Co-Response Teams have been confirmed, expanding a model that helps people experiencing mental distress receive timely, wraparound support that better meets their health needs.
29 Jun	Mental health and addiction targets progress continues Health New Zealand continues to make important progress against its mental health and addiction targets, meeting four out of five national targets this quarter.
25 Jun	Access to care continuing to improve across a range of health indicators New health data released today shows continued improvement in access to care across a range of health indicators.
18 Jun	Funding "boost" continues dangerous under-funding of aged care The Health Minister’s funding "boost" for aged residential care continues underfunding to the sector and will continue unsafe practices and short staffing, which is putting vulnerable residents at risk, NZNO says.
16 Jun	Labour to make maternity scans free Labour will add free maternity scans to the Medicard alongside three free doctor’s visits a year, so every pregnant woman gets the care she needs.