Greetings Kia ora and greetings - Nursing Council of New Zealand

Greetings
Kia ora and greetings

Welcome to our first Update for 2019. As Chairperson, this is my first opportunity to thank
you for your commitment during 2018. Thank you to those who worked through the
Christmas and New Year season and I hope that you have now taken a well-earned break.

The settings and conditions in our health sector have remained challenging over the last
year. However, it was the highly skilled way in which nurses continued to provide excellent
care for their patients that impress us at the Council. The low number of calls received during
the year, voicing concern or complaining about the competence, health or conduct of nurses
was evidence of this.

As the year begins, I would also like to take the time to acknowledge the work realised by the
Council in 2018. We carried out some important programmes that have contributed to
safeguarding public health. Not only has our work as a regulator enhanced the public’s trust
and confidence in nurses, it has benefitted nurses and made it easier for them to
communicate with us.

Our Strategic Projects team has continued to work with the sector and government to make
registered nurse prescribing a reality. We anticipate nurses making an even bigger
contribution to public health by being able to treat some health conditions, and empower

patients to manage their long-term conditions, particularly, in isolated parts of the country,
and for those who are less able to access health care.

The only interaction most nurses have with the Council during a year will be to register or
renew their practising certificates. We aim to make this an easier process in 2019 with the
launch of MyNC (My Nursing Council). The MyNC portal on our website will be our key
method of registering nurses in the future. Nurses will, no doubt, appreciate a seamless
process that will briefly take them away from their fast-paced lives.

I would like to thank members of our Board for their work over the past year, as well as for
the work that is ahead of them. Their governance has seen the Council’s staff being provided
with guidance and the direction needed to carry out the aims and the objectives of the
Council’s 2017 to 2022 Strategic plan.

Finally, I would like to pay tribute to Council staff for their work over the past year, which has
been a busy and challenging time. They have ensured that the organisation has been able to
maintain a high standard of service, particularly with the changing of the guard at the Chief
Executive and Chair level and have remained dedicated to providing a professional and
effective Council.

Best wishes for a successful year ahead.
Nga Mihi

To’a Fereti (Chairperson)

     Meet our newly elected Chairperson and Deputy
     Chairperson
     To’a Fereti
     Chairperson

     To’a was a Ministerial appointment to Council in June
     2014. She was born in Samoa, grew up and educated
     in Dunedin and has had a long and distinguished
     career as a nurse. Over the last 28 years, To’a has
     worked as a clinician, educator, and manager in
     nursing. She is currently the Clinical Nurse Director,
     Division of Medicine & Clinical Support Services,
     Counties Manukau Health, which requires her to
     provide professional governance and leadership for
     nurses within her Division. She is undertaking her
     Doctorate of Health Sciences and is the President of
     the Pan Pacific Nurses Association. She has a
     particular interest in Pacific health and the Pacific
     workforce, utilising her clinical leadership and
     managerial experience combined with her Samoan
     cultural values, to influence and affect change for
     positive Pacific health outcomes.

Dr Kathy Holloway
Deputy Chairperson

Dr Holloway is currently the Director of the Graduate
School of Nursing, Midwifery and Health at Victoria
University of Wellington. She is the co-chair of the
Board and Fellow of the College of Nurses Aotearoa
and was a member of the Ministry of Health expert
advisory group for the 2015 review and update of the
New Zealand Health Strategy. A registered nurse
originally trained at Wellington Polytechnic, Kathy
completed her Doctorate in 2011. Her doctoral work
has been used by specialty nursing groups nationally
to articulate the contribution they can make to
addressing health care need through the National
Nursing Consortium processes.

Through her academic research and global
engagement Kathy is involved in clarifying the potential
of nursing expertise to improve the patient experience
and inform workforce planning models. Dr Holloway
was appointed by the Minister of Health to the Nursing
Council in July 2015.

Meet our new Board members
Monina Hernandez, Joanne Hewlett and Iosefa T Paituli have been newly appointed to
the Council. These new members replace Tania Kemp and Dr Conway Powell who made
valuable contributions during their tenures. Catherine Byrne resigned as chair of the Board
in November 2018 to take up the role as the Council’s new chief executive.

We sincerely thank these outgoing members for their dedicated service to the Council and to
our nursing profession.

Meet Monina Hernandez

Monina Hernandez is a ministerial appointee and the
first Filipino to sit on the Nursing Council. She is
currently a lecturer at Massey University, a clinical
nurse specialist for infection prevention and control, and
an advocate for the rights of marginalised sectors in the
community.

She is the founder and president of the Filipino Nurses’
Association of New Zealand, Inc. and leader-member of
Sigma Theta Tau International Honour Society of
Nursing. She was previously a Director of NZNO.

Monina’s experience spans more than 26 years in two
countries. Monina worked as a community health nurse,
nurse-midwife and university lecturer before settling in
Aotearoa in 2010.
She has also published a book and has received recognition for her advocacy work in the
Philippines. Monina graduated from the Philippines’ premier university - the University of the
Philippines Manila and was recognised as their most outstanding student in 1991. She holds
a Master of Nursing degree with honours from the University of Auckland and is working
towards her PhD at Massey University.

Meet Joanne Hewlett

Joanne Hewlett is a primary school teacher based in
Auckland. She has three children – two of them born
with severe intellectual and physical disabilities (one
passing away 12 years ago, the other now a young
adult living in a supported care situation). Joanne’s
experiences with disability and death prompted her to
co-author a book on the topic from a parent’s
perspective, which was published in 2011.

She has also had many opportunities to speak to a
variety of audiences, including nursing students and
staff, on good nursing and care from a parent’s point of
view.

She is a lay member on the Performance Assessment Committee of the Medical Council and
believes strongly in the importance of good quality medical care.

She is particularly passionate about the importance of protecting the most vulnerable and
being a voice for those who are either unable or are limited in their ability to speak out.

Meet Iosefa Tiata Paituli

Iosefa T Paituli is a Minister at Mt. Roskill’s
Congregational Christian Church – of Samoa. He is
married with four children and seven grandchildren, has
a Master’s in Theology and is completing a Masters in
Entrepreneurialism.

Iosefa worked as a financial controller for the Church in
Samoa for six years and was their chief accountant for
five years. He has also worked for the Bank of Western
Samoa in Samoa, the Bank of New Zealand and Lion
Breweries before attending Theological College in
Samoa.

Iosefa is passionate about his community. He was inspired to help those he met who found
communicating with their healthcare providers frustrating and stressful. Today he is very
involved in advocating for members of his community and being a conduit for information for
those experiencing language and cultural barriers.

Iosefa’s enjoys reading and all kinds of sport, especially tennis. He practices yoga to
meditate and clear his mind, preaches and loves to serve voluntarily.

Meeting with Māori Nurse Leaders Wednesday 20
February 2019

It was a pleasure for the Council to host a talanoa with the Māori Nurse Leaders on
Wednesday 20 February. The talanoa marked a new day forward for both the Council Board
and Māori Nurse Leaders. It focused on rebuilding the foundations of connectedness and re-
establishing our working and collegial relationships to influence improvements in Māori health
outcomes and how to work in partnership at governance, policy and operational levels.

Both groups agreed to work together to improve Māori nurse representation on the Council
Board and towards a partnership in line with Te Tiriti o Waitangi, Kawa Whakaruruhau and
Te Ao Māori perspectives. There is now the need to re-evaluate and change the way Council
members are currently appointed or elected and there was absolute agreement to work
collaboratively on this.

To’a Fereti, the new Council Chair, acknowledged and accepted that the Council needed to
take ownership of past shortcomings and the importance of re-establishing relationships to
formulate a future moemoea (vision) that can be diligently pursued together – “It was a great
talanoa, a bit emotional, however, it signals the importance of re-establishing our
relationships and the important work ahead of us together.”

To’a Ferenti

Council ends use of annual practising certificate plastic
cards
From the first of July 2019, the Council will end the use of annual practising certificate (APC)
cards. Nurses’ APC details can be viewed and printed out from the Council’s public register.
The Register is the authoritative source for determining a nurse’s registration and current
practising status.

Update on the new MyNC portal

Council will be launching a new portal ‘MyNC’ for nurses in June 2019. This will allow nurses
to make changes to their personal details without needing to contact Council staff. The first
nurses to use the portal are those with birthdays in April, May, and June. Until the launch of
‘MyNC’, nurses will use the existing system.

The Council will contact nurses near their renewal dates with emails that will explain clearly
how and what they will need to fully complete their APC renewal on ‘MyNC’.

Launching our new website in the 2019

Momentum is gathering for the launch of the Council’s new website. The website will feature
a new look and feel. Navigation around the site has been improved by some testing with
nurses by the company developing the new site. We will build on this better user experience
by reviewing all our content and forms in the year to come.

The Council understands that many will access the site on their phones, so we have ensured
the site will be easy to see and use this way.

2018 Annual report will be published shortly

Work has finished on creating the Council’s annual report for 2017/2018. The Report will
highlight key achievements, goals reached, and programmes of work achieved by the
Council during the 2017/2018 year.

The report must be tabled at Parliament and approved for publication before we place it on
our website and distribute it to key stakeholders. This will take place after the House sits
again in February 2019. We will share some key highlights with readers in the next issue of
the Update.

Research about clinical assessment of
undergraduate nursing students
Kia ora, my name is Jo Borren and I am enrolled in a Doctor of Philosophy in Health
Sciences programme of study at the University of Canterbury. As part of my research I am
investigating competence assessment practices in Bachelor of Nursing programmes in
Aotearoa New Zealand. If you work with nursing students, you are invited to complete this
short survey below:

Click below if you are a registered rurse who works with Bachelor of Nursing students on
clinical placement

http://canterbury.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_blJrA8BScp651HL

Click below if you are a clinical tutor/educator/lecturer (employed by a tertiary institution)
http://canterbury.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_4IoZfOAY819P07H

Thank you, your participation in this research will improve the understanding of the clinical
assessment of undergraduate nursing students.

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                                                                  E admin@nursingcouncil.org.nz
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                                                                          Wellington, New Zealand