Features – Kaitiaki Nursing New Zealand

April 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.

March 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.

March 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.

March 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.

March 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.

January 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.

January 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.

January 2026

A life of dedication: Remembering Sue Claridge 1955-2025

By Marilyn Casey

January 15, 2026

It is with profound sadness that we bid farewell to Sue Claridge, a cherished colleague, mentor and friend, whose legacy will resonate throughout the perioperative nursing community of Christchurch and New Zealand.

January 2026

Daisy, Bunny and pals: I work in residential care, my pets are my therapy when I get home

By Emily Bolton

January 12, 2026

In a Kaitiaki summer feature we’re sharing our readers’ amazing pets – answering the age old question of what makes the perfect animal companion to the busy health professional.

January 2026

Tibbs, Ziggy, Panda and Jaina: They help me through the hard times

By Aura Sanderson

January 5, 2026

In a Kaitiaki summer feature we’re sharing our readers’ amazing pets – answering the age old question of what makes the perfect animal companion to the busy health professional.

January 2026

Lilah: She helped me through long nights of study to my theatre nursing role

By Melissa Gratwicke

December 29, 2025

In a Kaitiaki summer feature we’re sharing our readers’ amazing pets – answering the age old question of what makes the perfect animal companion to the busy health professional.

January 2026

Nurses make 100 emerging Māori leaders’ list for 2025

By Kaitiaki coeditors

December 22, 2025

Three nurses have made the annual list of 100 people who have been identified by Te Rau Ora as emerging Māori leaders.

January 2026

Nursing pets: From ‘foster fail’ to beloved member of exclusive circle of friends

By Allie Sutton

December 22, 2025

In a Kaitiaki summer feature we’re sharing our readers’ amazing pets – answering the age old question of what makes the perfect animal companion to the busy health professional.

November 2025

Flight nurses: Working between heaven, earth and hell

By Renee Kiriona

November 16, 2025

There are fewer than 500 flight nurses in Aotearoa. They work between heaven and earth, and sometimes hell, starting their day in a hangar rather than a hospital ward, ready to fly wherever life is hanging in the balance. Kaitiaki talks with two flight nurses about nursing in the air.

October 2025

Trust, transplantation and the grim question for Māori — who’s left to ask for a kidney if we’re all sick?

By Joel Maxwell

November 7, 2025

She was the only Māori nurse in a room full of indigenous people — but no matter how far apart their homelands were geographically, their stories were the same.

October 2025

Nurse puts ‘mana motuhake’ into campaign to fight syphilis

By Renee Kiriona

October 23, 2025

Some are calling her the “syphilis cop” but this registered nurse, and NZNO member, would much prefer to say that getting regular tests for sexually transmitted infections is about looking after your “mana motuhake”.

October 2025

Innovative Māori aged care model set to bring aroha, manaakitanga to kaumātua

By Renee Kiriona

October 15, 2025

Aged care in Aotearoa New Zealand is in crisis. Reports of staff being underpaid and over worked are common as are the reports of elderly residents not getting the care they should. Kaitiaki is exploring what’s happening in this space. We talk with a granddaughter who is on a mission to transform aged care for Māori, starting with kaumātua from her own tribe.

October 2025

Life, death, and never forgetting: Five lessons learned from 30 years as a kaiāwhina in aged care

By Joel Maxwell

October 13, 2025

Recognise their humanity, listen to their secrets, save their stories if you can – and never stop caring.

October 2025

Looking out for the next generation of firefighters — and nurses

By Renee Kiriona

October 10, 2025

He is a firefighter. His sister is a nurse. And they both share the same goal to make their professions better for the next generation.

September 2025

Ko Rebecca Fenn: Mai i Rānana ki tāna taraiwa i te pahi me te āwhina ki a rātou “kei raro e putu ana”

By Renee Kiriona

October 6, 2025

Kua whakawhiwhia Rebecca Fenn te tohu Mātanga Tapuhi o te Tau, nā tōna tamaititanga i waenganui i te “rongo ki ngā hōhipera” me “te tākaro hei nēhi” i whakaohooho i a ia kia atawhai i te iwi.

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.