Māori nursing workforce – Kaitiaki Nursing New Zealand

February 2025

New nursing course: ancestor-inspired, inequities-driven

By Renee Kiriona

February 25, 2025

Aotearoa now has a new nursing degree. And its birth and inspiration have been drawn from the stories of health justice in the country’s most northern region and the realities there where tangata whenua face major health inequities.

September 2024

Left out in the cold: Is it really about health budget constraints?

By Pipi Barton

August 13, 2024

In an urgent call to better support New Zealand-trained nurses, senior Māori nursing lecturer at NorthTec, Pipi Barton (Ngāti Hikairo ki Kāwhia) recalls being an out-of-work nursing graduate in the 1990s.

April 2024

Nurse practitioner trainee numbers soar with 50 per cent funding boost

By Mary Longmore

March 8, 2024

Rising confidence amid more supportive pathways are behind a leap in nurses training to become mātanga tapuhi (nurse practitioners) this year, leaders say.

December 2023

Māori nurses must be recognised as taonga — and key to a future with equal health for all

By Denise Wilson

November 8, 2023

50 years after nurse education moved out of hospitals, Māori health professor and former nurse Denise Wilson reflects on the “ugly” backlash over cultural safety — and challenges the profession to make way for Māori leaders.

September 2023

Schools of nursing unite in urgent call to protect ‘at risk’ nurse educators

By Mary Longmore

August 23, 2023

Academics from across Aotearoa’s 20 nursing schools are speaking up in an unprecedented and “urgent” call to protect what they say is an at-risk but crucial part of the nursing workforce.

July 2023

How to provide culturally safe care in the Aotearoa perioperative environment

By Rangi Blackmoore-Tufi and Bron Taylor

June 20, 2023

Perioperative nurses must provide safe patient care. An important aspect of safe care is culturally safe practice. This article discusses nurses’ responsibilities for reducing inequities and providing culturally safe care in operating rooms in Aotearoa New Zealand.

July 2023

A safe environment for Māori patients starts with a safe environment for Māori nurses

By Rangi Blackmoore-Tufi

June 20, 2023

Rangi Blackmoore-Tufi reflects on some of the challenges she has faced being the sole Māori nurse in her perioperative department. Changes made following a frustrating and stressful day have made the department a safer place for Māori staff and patients.

July 2023

A dream come true – kaupapa Māori kaiāwhina-to-nursing initiative breaks barriers to training

By Cate Macintosh

May 30, 2023

A Māori-led nursing earn-as-you-learn workforce initiative is giving some kaiāwhina (unregulated health workers) the chance to realise a life-long dream to be a nurse.

June 2023

Budget 2023: Bigger investment needed to boost Māori, Pacific nursing

By Cate Macintosh

May 17, 2023

Registered nurse (RN) Jo Fortune, 47, is a passionate advocate for community nursing, and even says she’d encourage her kids to follow in her footsteps – but she hopes Budget 2023 will provide more support for those pursuing the profession.

June 2023

‘Humbled’ in the presence of global indigenous leaders

By Cate Macintosh

May 9, 2023

Māori nurses joined over 1000 indigenous peoples calling for their rights to be upheld, and an end to discrimination at a United Nations forum.

December 2022

Fund our training — it’s time for the Government to seriously invest in the domestic nursing workforce

By Pipi Barton

November 9, 2022

An increasingly ‘academic-oriented’ nursing profession has done nothing to support Māori into the workforce, says Māori nurse educator Pipi Barton, in a call to return to paid training.

December 2022

Minister looking at paid third-year placements, but no sign of more fees-free

By co-editors Mary Longmore and Cate Macintosh

November 6, 2022

Paid clinical placements ‘a nod in the right direction’, but free nursing study for all is the goal, say student nursing leaders.

November 2022

‘The key performance indicator I have to meet is with my people’

By Mary Longmore

October 21, 2022

In the third part of a series on NZNO’s board members, Tauranga nurse Anamaria Watene says she finds solace in her marae, Tahuwhakatiki, and sacred local mountain, Mauao, when challenges such as racial prejudice become too much.

October 2022

Te wero, our challenge, to grow our own workforce

By Sue Adams and Josephine Davis

August 31, 2022

The COVID-19 surge workforce — of unregulated health workers — could be an important source of new nurses.

September 2022

Real nurses star in campaign to draw more Māori, Pasifika & men into nursing

By Mary Longmore

August 5, 2022

NZNO nurses from military to burns and plastic surgery feature in a new NZNO-Ministry of Health (MoH) recruitment drive to encourage more people into nursing — particularly Māori, Pasifika and men.

September 2022

Sitting at the top table — he karanga ki ngā tapuhi Māori

By Pipi Barton

July 20, 2022

Māori nurse, lecturer and researcher puts out a call for more Māori nurses to join roopu on growing the Māori nursing workforce.

14 Apr	Rural Health Roadshow to hear from rural communities Associate Health Minister with responsibility for Rural Health and Minister for Mental Health Matt Doocey announced today he will be coming to 12 rural locations across the country on a Rural Health Roadshow, starting this week in Levin.
10 Apr	Expanded emergency department at Auckland City Hospital will see capacity increase Health Minister Simeon Brown has today officially opened Auckland City Hospital’s newly refurbished adult emergency department.
1 Apr	Health NZ wants your feedback on a Paediatric Adolescent and Young Adult Palliative Model of Care Health New Zealand \| Te Whatu Ora (Health NZ) is seeking feedback on potential options for national palliative care services for tamariki, rangatahi/children, young people and their whānau/families.
27 March	Bar still too high for small mental health providers Small mental health providers will still be locked out of co-funding from the Mental Health Innovation Fund despite a lower threshold.
25 March	ICN advocates for health system gender equity and women’s health The International Council of Nurses (ICN) brought the nursing voice to the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW69) which wrapped up on Friday. ICN participated in critical discussions on gender equity and women’s health throughout the event.
19 March	ICN warns of healthcare crisis as USAID funding cuts devastate nursing initiatives in the world’s most vulnerable regions The International Council of Nurses (ICN) has documented alarming firsthand evidence of widespread disruption and collapse of essential health care services following the sudden withdrawal of USAID and other funding.
19 March	New High Dependency Unit will expand critical care services in Wellington Health Minister Simeon Brown has today officially opened Wellington Regional Hospital’s first High Dependency Unit (HDU).
13 March	Pharmac to fund more cancer medicines Pharmac is funding six more medicines for cancers and one for antibiotic resistant infections.
28 Feb	Pharmac CE resigns The Board of Pharmac wishes to announce that its Chief Executive for the last 7 years, Sarah Fitt, has resigned effective from 30 May 2025.
25 Feb	ICN issues updated statement on health care in conflict, calling for peace and compliance with international humanitarian law In recent years, the world has witnessed a disturbing increase in conflicts and wars, placing immense strain on health systems and exacerbating human suffering. Nurses have been at the forefront of these crises, responding to emergencies, supporting recovery efforts, and providing essential care to those affected by violence and displacement.
21 Feb	ICN’s new guidance on integrating nurse leaders into heart of health workforce planning The International Council of Nurses (ICN) has published a practical guide to including nurses in workforce planning decisions.
17 Feb	ICN warns of effect of US withdrawal from WHO on nurse-led services The International Council of Nurses (ICN) warned that the withdrawal of the United States from WHO has already halted some nurse-led services, including vaccination programmes and care for people with HIV/AIDS.
17 Feb	Minister acknowledges outgoing Director-General Health Minister Simeon Brown has today acknowledged the resignation of Director-General of Health and Chief Executive of the Ministry of Health, Dr Diana Sarfati, and thanked her for her service.
12 Feb	Pharmac funds medicines for liver, ovarian, and neuroendocrine cancers People with liver, ovarian, and neuroendocrine cancers will have access to more medicines from 1 March 2025.
11 Feb	Consultation begins on work to improve patient access to medical devices Pharmac is continuing to improve the way medical devices are managed for New Zealanders, today opening consultation on its comprehensive list of medical devices used by public hospitals.
3 Feb	First Whānau Āwhina Plunket site in NZ delivering childhood vaccinations Childhood immunisations are now being delivered at a Whānau Āwhina Plunket site in Whāngarei, with other regions soon to also provide the new service.
29 Jan	Local access to specialist audiology services comes to Wairarapa A newly established out-patient clinic for ear, nose, and throat (ENT) and audiology appointments is providing Wairarapa patients with local access to specialist hearing services for the first time.
29 Jan	Pharmac reconsiders oestradiol patch options following community feedback Pharmac is reviewing and reconsidering its oestradiol patch options after considerable feedback was received when it announced a move to a single funded brand late last year.
22 Jan	Consultations for cancer and ADHD medicines close soon Pharmac is encouraging people to have their say on proposals to fund six more medicines and change the brand of one medicine before consultation closes on 27 January.