Nurses, care to join us?

Robyn Harrison
Enrolled Nurse - Day of Surgery Admission

“I love caring for a variety of patients, talking with them and feeling like I have helped in some way.

I am pleased there are more enrolled nurses joining Waikato District Health Board because Waikato is such great place to live and work.

I have lived here for many years and am very involved with my grandchildren. I enjoy cycling and walking along our river trails and around the lake. Raglan is also a favourite spot."

Care to join Robyn as an enrolled nurse?

Find out more about Waikato’s cycling and walking tracks: www.waikatorivertrails.co.nz

Whitney Te Wano
Public Health Nurse - Te Kuiti

Ko Whitney toku ingoa
Ko Tainui te waka
Ko Pirongia te maunga
Ko Waipa te awa
Ko Ngāti Maniapoto te iwi
Ko Ngāti Huiao te hapu
No Otorohanga ahau

"I work as a registered nurse at Te Kuiti Hospital as well as a public health nurse in the Community and Southern Rural Health team along with other district nurses and ward nurses.

Working in healthcare can take you anywhere – all around the world with opportunities and all around our beautiful country. No day’s the same for me where I spend time in Te Kuiti hospital caring for a number of patients, and then I’ll be working out in the community mostly covering areas Aria, Te Kuiti and the beachside village of Tahaaroa supporting our whānau and communities.

A focus of mine is keeping our infants/pepi, children/tamariki and young people/rangatahi well. Being a mum myself to a 12 year old daughter is one of my motivations for the career I’ve chosen. The inspiration came from my mum who’s a nurse too and I’ve proudly followed in her footsteps.

I studied at Wintec in Waikato and I did my NETP (nurse entry to practice) at Waikato Hospital.

I want to inspire more people, more mums, especially Māori to become a nurse or some type of healthcare professional because not only do you get a career for life, the best part is that good feeling of helping people.

Come and work with me in one of our rural hospitals."

Care to join Whitney?

Whitney’s home town is also home to the beautiful Waitomo caves and houses many of our local icons the kiwi, find out what Te Kuiti has to offer.

Kerry Gibbs
Associated Charge Nurse Manager - High Dependency Unit

“I returned to New Zealand to Waikato’s High Dependency Unit after doing outback nursing in Australia. Prior to this I was a registered nurse here.

I returned because Waikato is my home, it’s central to beaches and my parents live in Waihi.

Waikato Hospital is a real hub with lots of variety; you get all sorts of patients with all sorts of illnesses and injuries.

Outside of work, I love the music scene and cafes in Hamilton, I’m also a florist, so you’ll often find me making flower arrangements for weddings.”

Care to join Kerry?

If you want to find out more about where Kerry’s parents live nearby, Waihi beach, also known as the gateway to the Coromandel, visit: https://www.thecoromandel.com/

Philomena Margaret McCormack
Charge Nurse Manager - Medi E8

“I love working here because it’s the opportunities that Waikato Hospital and the District Health Board have provided me.

It is these opportunities and guidance from my senior peers who have not only believed in me but supported me to grow and develop and lead me into the pathway of leadership and management as a charge nurse manager. I feel that the DHB has provided me with some excellent resources to help support my transition into a management role from mentorship, workshops and programmes.

I am inspired to see how my staff and colleagues work well together as a team. I am a valued team member of the Cardiology, Critical Care, Cath Lab, and Cardiothoracic and Vascular cluster. Having made some great relationships and connections enables us all to strive for the same outcome which is to provide our patients with excellent nursing care in a safe holistic environment.

My partner and I have just about completed our new home in Ohaupo on a lifestyle block where we have been fully involved in the building process, from designing our own home and being our own project manager’s. We are just about completed and our move in date is soon! There is still a lot of work that needs to be done outside with landscaping so my after work hobby will be slowly establishing our section.”

Care to join Philomena?

Philomena is building her home in Ohaupo, which is in the Waipa District – learn more about this area and find out why they often associate it as the “home of champions”.

Kat Wakefield
New Graduate Mental Health Nurse - Older Persons and Rehabilitation

I’m Kat, a new graduate nurse working in OPR1 the Acute Mental Health Unit for Older Persons. I choose mental health and addiction as my specialty because nurses working in this area have to be able talk to people and build therapeutic relationships; we’re communicators. I also really like that my day is not task orientated, but people focused.

The thing I love most about my job is getting to know each person’s story, their journey here to us. Our people here in OPR1 have seen so much history and so much change in the world over their lifetimes. Learning about a person’s life, their strengths, their whānau and support network allows me to illustrate strengths they may have lost sight of. Of course scones, made by our people, every Tuesday make it a pretty tempting place to work too.

My career aspirations include working in the community at some stage. I’d like to be able to see people in their own home. I believe it would eliminate a lot of the equity imbalance, you know the “I’m the nurse and you’re the patient” aspect.

I’ve had people say to me “Oh you don’t want to be a real nurse?” But the way I see it I am a ‘real’ nurse. I’ve trained in the physical aspect of nursing and now I am specialising in one of the more complex aspects of health, the mind.

Care to Join Kat?