West Coast nurse wins national award

Franz Josef-based Rural Nurse Specialist Gemma Hutton is an excellent choice to win the 2015 NZNO Young Nurse of Year, according to West Coast DHB Director of Nursing and Midwifery Karyn Bousfield.

Gemma won the award at a ceremony in Wellington on Tuesday night, after being nominated by colleagues.

The award is for a nurse under 30 years old who goes the extra mile and demonstrates exceptional commitment to patients and their profession. This prestigious award acknowledges Gemma’s hard work and commitment.

After receiving the award, Franz Josef-based Gemma (26) said, “I feel quite overwhelmed that my colleagues even thought to nominate me. Being acknowledged for doing something I love feels awesome. I had an absolutely amazing time, I felt very special and was really overwhelmed and humbled by the whole experience!”

At the NZNO ceremony, spokesperson Dr Jill Clendon described Gemma as a nurse with “the X factor. She sees the needs in the community, and gets to work straight away putting goals in place and achieving positive health outcomes.”

Karyn Bousfield says working as a Rural Nurse Specialist in South Westland is incredibly demanding, because of the responsibility, and scale of the geographical area that nursing staff manage.

“Rural nurse specialists have to be very skilled at understanding the complexities of everything from common ailments to very complex medical situations. They have to know when situations can be managed, and when they need to be escalated quickly.

“As an employer, we recognise what great value we are getting in our Rural Nurse Specialists, who keep health services running on a daily basis outside the main centres.

“It’s incredibly exciting to the DHB to have that dedication and skillset recognised at a national level. Well done Gemma!”

ENDS

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