NURSE PRACTITIONERS IN NORTHLAND

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1 Adrianne Murray Iwi: Te Rarawa, Ngāpuhi Based:Kaitaia Adrianne Murray works across three different clinical sites for Te Hauora O Te Hiku O Te Ika, her local Maori Provider Organisation. She studied nursing at Northland Polytechnic in Whangarei and started registered nursing in 1988 at the Northland District Health Board. Adrianne spent the first part of her career working in hospital settings advancing her clinical skills and level of expertise to become proficient in Acute Coronary Care, Cardiac Rehabilitation, Acute & Chronic Adult Medical care, Elderly/Geriatric care and Nursing Management. In 1997 Adrianne worked in General Practice, with a focus on preventing hospital admissions and stayed in this area until For the past 10 years she has been working within a Maori Provider authority, to establish Nurse -Led Clinical Nurse specialist services. The road to becoming a Nurse Practitioner was not without obstacles, according to Adrianne. Being away from home while studying at tertiary level and then development of the new Nurse Practitioner role has been challenging. There is a need to establish administrative and clinical frameworks to support successful implementation of this clinical position. Necessary components must include creating a positive interdisciplinary environment to sustain collegial acceptance for Nurse Practitioners. Adrianne says her whānau are a great support and they helped her get to where she is today, along with a focused mind and personal determination to achieve. 1

2 Rhoena Davis Iwi: Ngati Kahu, Te Rarawa, Ngati Hine and Ngati Manu - Nga Puhi Nui Tonu Based:Kawakawa Before becoming a Nurse Practitioner, Rhoena served in the Royal New Zealand Airforce and joined the elite in becoming a full time parent. In 1994 she embarked on her nursing career, having graduated with a Diploma in Comprehensive Nursing from North Tec. She started off in general nursing before moving onto Paediatrics, Public Health, Tamariki ora, Mobile Nursing and Clinical Management. Rhoena has represented a number of national committees including: The National Student Unit Representative for New Zealand Nurses Organisation where she sat on the Board of Directors, New Zealand Nurses Organisation Te Rūnanga where she Vice Chaired and sat on the Board of Directors, New Zealand Nurses Organisation Nurses and Midwives Advisory Group, New Zealand Nurses Organisation Editorial Committee as well as Aotearoa/New Zealand College of Nurses Board of Directors. When the opportunity arose and Rhoena was invited to take up the challenge of study and assert advanced nursing by becoming a Nurse Practitioner within the Ngāti Hine Health Trust, Rhoena couldn t pass it up. As a Nurse Practitioner with a whānau ora scope of practice, Rhoena is able to diagnose and treat patients of all ages. She works independently, but networks with and works alongside members of a diverse primary health team. Currently living in Kawakawa, Rhoena considers herself lucky enough to be surrounded by a number of support systems throughout her journey to Nurse Practitioner. I ve had endless support from my husband Patrick, our children and other whānau members, as well as the Ngāti Hine Health Trust Management and Kaimahi, the Kawakawa and Moerewa Medical Surgeries, Bay of Islands Hospital staff, Northland DHB Maori Development Team, the Director of Nursing and CTA funding, Auckland University tutors and a special thanks to Anne Mckillop and Gigi Lim. 2

3 Sarah Waldron Parents are from Yorkshire in the north of England Emigrating to New Zealand in 1954 Based: Paihia Sarah works as a Nurse Practitioner at The Bayview Medical Centre in Paihia, and is also employed on contract with the Te Tai Tokerau PHO, to coordinate an Eczema Project in the region. Sarah became a Registered General / Obstetric Nurse at Northland District Health Board in She worked briefly in the Paediatric Cardiothoracic ward at Greenlane Hospital in Auckland. Sarah then traveled to the UK working in London and the south east of England in a variety of National Health Services and private hospitals in surgical, medical and Paediatric settings. Sarah returned to Northland in 1990, working at the Bay of Islands hospital in Kawakawa. She then moved to General Practice, where she has worked since Sarah applied and was offered a place on the Post Graduate Diploma Programme in 2005; this was funded by the Health Workforce New Zealand which enabled her to embark on her post grad studies. Following this she studied towards her Master of Nursing, graduating in Sarah works independently and in collaboration with the GPs to provide diagnosis and treatment for patients of all ages in a General Practice setting. The road to Nurse Practitioner has not been easy, juggling full-time work and family responsibilities with study. I have had the support and met some wonderful people on this journey that have made the trip enjoyable. Special thanks to my GP colleagues, Rose Lightfoot (Te Tai Tokerau PHO), Lecturers from Auckland University, Margaret Horsburgh and the many talented nurses I have met along the way. 3

4 Kathryn Menary Based: Broadway Health Centre, Kaikohe. I undertook my hospital based Registered General & Obstetric Nursing training at Whangarei Hospital and for a short period worked at Bay of Islands Hospital before returning to Kaikohe. The majority of my experience has been in Primary Care and I have worked in General Practice as a Practice Nurse for approximately 25 years. The General Practice in which I work was instrumental in developing my clinical skills and through their encouragement I achieved my goal as Nurse Practitioner in Financial assistance with my studies was assisted by the Ministry of Health and in my final year I received a scholarship from ACC to complete my studies at AUT in Auckland. In January 2011, I obtained Nursing Council approval to work as a Nurse Practitioner in Primary Health Care, for people across all ages with the capability to prescribe medicines as required. I continue to work at the Broadway Health Centre in Kaikohe. In my new role I have a strong focus on working with patients with long-term conditions in particular patients with diabetes. Two days a week I work in our acute clinic triaging, assessing and managing patients with acute medical issues, working independently and collaboratively with other members of the health care team. I am also a member of the Te Tai Tokerau PHO clinical governance committee and local diabetes team. 4

5 Ba Margarita Bartlett Based: Kia Ora Ngati Wai, Kamo I am a general and psychiatric trained nurse with thirty two years experience. I have worked in the primary and secondary health care sectors and have developed skills and expertise in both management and clinical practice. Prior to coming to New Zealand I worked work as an Autonomous Nurse Practitioner in Primary Care in the United Kingdom where I was able to utilise my advanced skills. I recently registered as a Nurse Practitioner in New Zealand. My work as a Nurse Practitioner allows me to truly care for the presenting individual in a holistic manner. Being able to assess, diagnose, treat and discharge or refer patients with mental health and physical/social issues and making that a seamless system of care and a more positive experience for the patient is the best experience for me as a nurse. As a mobile Nurse Practitioner my clinics and clinical activities vary depending on location and need. I would like to develop the current services being delivered by providing health screening for particular groups and linking this service delivery with specialist services. For example Establishing well women health screening in the rural clinics in the Ngatiwai areas. These clinics would include the prescribing of contraception and treatments for sexually transmitted diseases, linking with family planning services and cervical smears. Ongoing support and health promotion for people living with chronic health problems such as cardio vascular disease, diabetes and renal problems. Support and assessment/referral for people with mental health problems, ensuring they have equitable access by linking with community mental health services As the link nurse for three large GP practices, I regularly meet with the practice teams and I am now linking home assessed patients who have health risks and unable to attend the practice with the practices. 5

6 Helen Topia Iwi: Ngāti Whatua Iwi connections: Te Rawera and Whakatohea Based: Northland/ North Shore. Helen Topia is a Nurse Practitioner who lives in Kaipara. Her whānau and tūpuna have lived on the same property since they settled there in With an extensive training background behind her including midwifery, cardiothoracic intensive care nursing, a Bachelor of Nursing (Sydney University) a Masters of Advanced Practice nursing and a Post graduate certificate nursing (Massey University), Helen registered as a Nurse Practitioner (Sydney) in 2003 where her area of practice was High Dependency Nursing. In 2007 she returned to New Zealand and extended her scope of practice to Adult and Chronic disease management in Primary Health Care. Helen s work includes five years within Maori Health in Kaipara where she coordinated service provision for Te Ha Oranga nursing service. Within that role she managed her own clinics and consulted with patients on a daily basis, many of whom found access to main stream services a challenge. Under this contract she was able to provide low cost health access to the people of Ngati Whatua. Helen s vision and commitment to her role extends across the wider health boundaries. She says Nurse Practitioners can operate as change agents making it possible to change the health environment to improve clinical service delivery to a wider group. In this respect the focus of the Nurse Practitioner is elevated to one that includes population health. Nurse Practitioners across New Zealand are instrumental in lobbing at political levels, leading population health initiatives, advocating for patients and families, assessing issues of health literacy and the identification of the negative impact of social determinates on the health of families and individuals. The impact that nurses and nursing can have in health care delivery is underestimated. Helen is a part time lecturer at AUT University teaching postgraduate nurses on the pathways to becoming Nurse Practitioners. She also works within the Emergency Department at Whangarei Hospital where she sees the potential value of establishing a Nurse Practitioner role within this environment Helen is part of the executive team for Nurse Practitioner New Zealand (NPNZ) and has been the Conference Convener for the last two years; she is currently working on the up and coming Future Directions Conference to be held in Christchurch in October. 6

7 Judy McHardy Based: Northland Coordinator of the before School Check programme Recipient of the Margaret May Blackwell Travel Study Fellowship, 2011/2012 The bequest of Margaret May Blackwell makes available an annual fellowship to enable a nurse working in early childhood health, to travel overseas to gain further knowledge by visiting and experiencing child health initiatives in other cultures. Born in Kaiapoi in 1907 Margaret Blackwell worked with children throughout her life in both health and education. The Fellowship she founded is administered by the NZ Nursing Education & Research Foundation, and the NZ Nurses Organisation. Judy McHardy is the worthy recipient of the 2011/2012 fellowship. A just reward for a woman whose nursing career has focused primarily on the health and well-being of children. Judy has worked as a Plunket and Public Health Nurse in the Mid and Far North regions of Northland. Her current role is the Coordinator for the Before School Check programme, a universal screening programme which offers a comprehensive health check to all four year olds with the aim to ensure children are fit and ready for school. Judy set-up the programme in Northland, and has coordinated B4SC for the past three and a half years. She is widely respected and admired for her nursing knowledge and skills, and her tenacity and determination to deliver a high quality service to the children of Northland. Follow Judy s Fellowship travels on her blog: 7