December 2025 – Kaitiaki Nursing New Zealand

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

Slow for bends

By Katherine Megchelse

December 26, 2025

We asked for your toughest health-care experiences. Today, Northland nurse Katherine Megchelse shares an unexpected perspective.

Why we need a rainbow group at NZNO — and how you can help it grow

By Juno Hunt

December 23, 2025

The rainbow special interest group (SIG) was formed in December 2024 and has six members in its interim committee.

January 2026

ICU nurses: “without redeployment we are happier, healthier and sickness is down”

By Karen McFarlane, Peter Groom, Manorma Prakash, Nimya Jacob

December 22, 2025

Nurses at North Shore Hospital’s intensive care unit say the recent redeployment strike has given them the time to be “on top of the quality stuff”.

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

“Don’t be sucked in by vape-bearing Santa” – nurse’s warning to youth

By Renee Kiriona

December 22, 2025

A leading respiratory nurse is “appalled” but not surprised by the latest marketing tactics of vaping retailers to “fool youth” in the lead up to Christmas and the New Year.

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.

January 2026

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.

January 2026

EXCLUSIVE: U-turn on enrolled nurses after meeting with minister

By Mary Longmore

December 19, 2025

NZNO’s enrolled nurses are heading into Christmas jubilant, after being restored to the voluntary bonding scheme, following a high-level meeting with Minister of Health Simeon Brown.

January 2026

EXCLUSIVE: Measles, the Health Minister and the mystery of the Māori nominations

By Joel Maxwell

December 18, 2025

They made a high-powered health group with no Māori voice, then made up for it with a Māori group that they might not even listen to.

January 2026

‘We need more support’ enrolled nurses tell Minister

By Michelle Prattley

December 17, 2025

Enrolled nurses are ready to contribute more — the scope has changed, the need is clear, and the opportunity is now, EN leader Michelle Prattley argues.

January 2026

Work to eliminate cervical cancer continues despite obstacles, says nurse after 20 year anniversary

By Mary Longmore

December 17, 2025

Eliminating cervical cancer in Aotearoa remains the end goal for nurse and emerging researcher Nadine Riwai.

January 2026

My aphantasia eases the load when caring for children at the end of life

By Vicki Chennells

December 15, 2025

We asked for your toughest health-care moments. Today, paediatric palliative care nurse Vicki Chennells explains why she remembers the emotional truth, but not the faces of children at the end of their lives.

January 2026

The forgotten impact of illness, eating and loss

By Linda Christian

December 12, 2025

A nursing lecturer shares her views and experiences of eating-related distress and grief.

January 2026

EXCLUSIVE:’Disheartening’ — just 34 of 218 enrolled nurse graduates get jobs

By Mary Longmore

December 12, 2025

Just 34 of 218 enrolled nurse (EN) graduates — 15 per cent — who applied to Te Whatu Ora landed a job this year, new figures reveal, prompting fears ENs have been “forgotten”.

December 2025

Mums and grand mums ‘working for free’ to face another tough Christmas

By Renee Kiriona

December 11, 2025

There are unlikely to be many presents under the Christmas trees of hundreds of thousands of women throughout Aotearoa this year because they are “working for free” right now, according to the Council of Trade Unions.

January 2026

He āputa ā-pūtea kua huraina — ko te take e hiahia nei te 80 ōrau o ēnei tapuhi kia wehe

By Joel Maxwell

December 10, 2025

Kua whāki atu ngā tapuhi hauora tuatahi mō ō rātou utu ā-hāora — kia tūhura ake pea i te take ka moemoeā te 80 ōrau o rātou mō ā rātou wehe i te rāngai.

January 2026

Cash gap revealed — why 80 per cent of these nurses think of escaping

By Joel Maxwell

December 10, 2025

Nurses in grassroots health care have dished on pay rates, workloads and just how many of them have considered leaving the sector.

December 2025

No more ’embarrassing’ need to consult GPs for basic medications after law change — nurse practitioner

By Natasha Ashworth

December 9, 2025

Nurse practitioners (NPs) finally getting the power to prescribe section 29 unapproved medicines means faster relief for patients — and less embarrassment for nurses, says Gisborne NP Natasha Ashworth.

December 2025

‘One of yours’: Rebuilding a safe and coherent mental health crisis system

By Stacey Wilson

December 9, 2025

Mental health crisis services in Aotearoa have endured a decade of increasing pressure, but the past year has pushed the workforce to a critical tipping point.

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.
12 Dec	Holidays Act remediation payments update As of 12 December 2025, more than 83,000 current employees (representing nearly 93% of the current workforce) have been paid over $657m holidays act remediation payments for their current role.
8 Dec	Expanding access to everyday medicines Registered nurse prescribers can now prescribe nearly double the number of medicines, significantly expanding access to timely, local care for New Zealanders, Health Minister Simeon Brown says.
1 Dec	Govt breaking promise to local communities Labour’s new Family Doctor Loan Scheme will support doctors and nurse practitioners with low-interest loans to set up new practices or buy into existing ones.