‘Being in the crow’s nest’

October 1, 2020

Diane McCulloch has been a clinical nurse specialist in emergency care at Waitakere Hospital since 2009. She trained in South Africa in 1976 but did not nurse when her children were young.

Diane McCullochOn arriving in New Zealand, she had to retrain due to the long gap in her practice. She began her retraining at the Auckland University of Technology in 2000, and later completed a master of health science. She is a strong advocate for advanced nursing practice.

Advertisement

She enjoys her current role because “it gives me the opportunity of meeting people with different backgrounds from all walks of life. I am able to optimise patient care by working with nursing staff”.

She got involved with NZNO and decided to stand for the board “to be able to use NZNO strength to have a voice in the workplace. I am passionate about giving workers the power to negotiate for more favourable working conditions through collective bargaining, and being able to communicate with members”.

She brings to her new role “dedication, leadership, and sound decision making”. She sees herself “as being in the crow’s nest, scanning the horizon for signs of storms or rainbows in nursing – in New Zealand and around the world”.

She is a member of NZNO’s College of Emergency Nurses, of its Advanced Emergency Nurses Network and of the Auckland Nurses’ Education and Research Trust (ANERT) and Pollard Fund.