Primary Health Care Nurse Excellence celebrated

13 May, 2013

Primary Health Care Nurse Excellence celebrated

Acknowledging, celebrating and encouraging excellence in primary health care practice was commended last week with 19 Northland primary health care practitioners and one organisation honoured at the Inaugural ACE Awards, hosted by Te Tai Tokerau and Manaia PHOs with Northland District Health Board. Six of the awards were given for Outstanding Achievements in primary health care.

NorthTec was honoured for educational excellence following a tertiary student satisfaction survey facilitated by Ngā Manukura o Āpōpō, a national Māori Nursing and Midwifery Workforce Development Programme.

The ACE awards were developed to publically acknowledge both individuals and teams who demonstrate outstanding leadership, quality work, community participation and academic success in the field of Nursing and Midwifery.

“Nurses and midwives work in teams and are, by nature, quiet achievers who more often than not deflect individual praise”, said co-organiser Mary Carthew, Associate Director of Nursing, Manaia PHO. “These awards recognise the value we and the community place in these nurses and their work”.

Guest speaker Dr Isabel Jamieson (RN, MN, PHD) from Christchurch presented the results of her doctoral thesis on Generation Y (Gen Y) nurses.

“Given the on-going worldwide shortage of nurses and the cost of recruitment and retention it is imperative that the profession gains further insight into factors that retain or lose its young nurses”, Dr Jamieson said.

“With our different generational views, how do we work together to create a workplace and work conditions that keeps the future of nursing alive?

“For the first time in history we have four generations working side by side”, Dr Jamieson, explained. “Gen Y nurses are now joining the working nurses of generation X, baby boomers and veterans. What my study has given us is further insight into factors that will retain or lose our young nurses”.

Hohipera Te AwhiWhiu (Peri) who died in 2012 and Fiona Prowse in 2013 were represented by their loved ones at the ceremony and received the awards on their behalf. Peri was honoured for her Services to Nursing and Maori Health and Fiona, a Practice Nurse, received a Quality Award and an award for Services to Nursing.

Six ACE Award recipients received Outstanding Achievement Awards. Sue Bree, Margaret Hand, Judy McHardy, Catherine Beazley, Bronwyn Henderson, Bernie Hetaraka.

Sue Bree has served as a midwife in the Northland community for some 30 years, providing home and hospital birthing services. She was one of the first self-employed midwives in Northland, with clients drawn from largely rural, unemployed or socially disadvantaged sectors of the community. In 2008 Sue was made a New Zealand College of Midwives Elder and she was awarded the New Zealand Order of Merit in the 2012 Queen’s Birthday Honours.

Margaret Handis a humble, quiet achiever who is an outstanding nurse making a significant difference to the community she serves. As well as Margaret’s hard work as a primary heath care nurse this year she has achieved Puna Rahi ( Expert Nurse) on the Harahi Whakatu Professional Development Recognition Programme (PDRP) and was capped as a Master of Nursing on the 8th May, 2013.

Judy McHardy was the worthy recipient of the 2011/2012 Margaret May Blackwell fellowship that enables a nurse working in early childhood health, to travel overseas to gain further knowledge by visiting and experiencing child health initiatives in other cultures, just reward for Judy’s nursing career that 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, and until recently was the Coordinator for the Before School Check programme (B4SC) in Northland. Judy set-up the B4SC programme and has coordinated the successful multi-provider model for the past four and a half years.

Catherine Beazleycurrently leads infection control and prevention within Hokianga Health. This involves education, audit, reports and policy review. Catherine has implemented a instrument tracking system, and improved the sterilisation packaging and storage of instruments. Catherine has shown on-going, diligent application of herself both personaly and professionally completing her Masters in Health Science in 2012, and continuing her pathway to applying for Nurse Practitioner, submitting her portfoilio in Jan 2013. Catherine Beazley is an outstanding nurse, leader and member of the Hokianga Health community.

Bronwyn Henderson along with three Diabetes Nurse Specilaists from the Northland DHB, became an Authorised Prescriber within the scope of her Diabetes nursing practice. Prescribing enables Bronwyn to give total care to patients without the need for them to have separate appointments to gain a prescription, reducing waiting time, and ensuring continuity of care for patients. Bronwyn has changed the face of diabetes management for both patients and nurses with her quiet and unassuming manner, gaining huge respect from both her nursing and medical colleagues.

Bernie Heteraka is well known and respected for her work with young people in Northland. In 2005, when Bernie was appointed to the role of Youth Health Coordinator at ManaiaPHO, she brought with her a vast experience of working with young people both as a public health nurse and nurse educator. With her strong public health nursing background Bernie has a deep understanding of the determinants of health, essential for understanding the motivators, drivers and access issues faced by young people.Bernie Hetaraka is the winner of the Vodafone Fellowship for 2013, a development grant of $90,000 for promising mid-career youth sector practitioners or researchers with proven leadership and experience in the youth sector to complete study, research or undertake a sabbatical - or a combination of these.

The2013 ACE Award recipients are:

Te Tai Tokerau PHO
Debbie Shepherd, Penny Drummond, Catherine Beazley, Sheryl De Waal
Cheryl Turner, Sue Bree, Venus Cherrington, PeriWhiu (posthumous), NorthTec

Manaia Health PHO
Suzanne Mackay, Susan Wordsworth, Claire Eady, Jann Leaming, Michele Murray
Bronwyn Henderson, Bernie Hetaraka, Margaret Hand, Fiona Prowse (posthumous)
Judy McHardy, Sandy Jane

ENDS

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