From L-R: Nicky Scott, Jeanette Banks, Gill Currie, Ronnie Ellis.
Chair's Report
NICKY SCOTT, CHAIR
PEGASUS HEALTH NURSE MEMBERSHIP LTD
In the last year, our focus has been on providing opportunities for Nurse Members to share their work and support each other to meet the challenges of increasingly dynamic General Practice settings.
In many General Practices, working environments are changing rapidly and we are being encouraged to work closer to the top of our scope of practice. Things that we may have done previously, that do not require clinical expertise, are being passed to others. At the same time, we are being presented with a myriad of training opportunities to learn new skills or bring ourselves up-to-speed in areas where we may not have regularly worked before.
As a result of all of this change, there are some amazing things happening in General Practice – many of them generated by nurses. Being a Pegasus Health Nurse Member provides unique opportunities to hear from colleagues about their innovations and to share our own experiences for the benefit of others. In the last year, many members have also taken the opportunity to attend national conferences and share their expertise on various committees as part of Pegasus Health’s paid leadership pathway programme.
At the heart of being a Pegasus Health Nurse Member is valuing quality care for patients and taking an interest in how General Practice Nursing is evolving. All General Practice nurses, whether we have already had a long career or are just starting out, need to be engaged in discussions about the future of nursing. As nurses, we also need to take up the opportunity to have our say, equally and alongside GPs, on issues that affect Pegasus Health as an organisation and thereby nurses. This feedback is provided directly to the Pegasus Health Charitable Board monthly meetings via the Nurse Membership Board Chair. All Nurse Membership Board directors also attend the organisation’s annual strategic planning events.
This year, the Pegasus Health Nurse Membership Board has had one Board Member change. We thank Victoria Leov for her time with us and welcome Gill Currie. We feel very privileged to have Gill join us. Last year, she became the first Pegasus Health Nurse to become a Nurse Practitioner in urban General Practice. There are only about 130 Nurse Practitioners in New Zealand.
We’d also like to acknowledge Kathryn Hellyer in her new role as rural Nurse Practitioner on the Pegasus Health Nursing Advisory Group. Her appointment is important in bringing a rural nursing perspective to discussions about the evolving role of Canterbury’s General Practice Nurses.
Thank you to all nurse members for their valuable input over the last year. Jeanette, Ronnie, Gill and I are looking forward to an exciting year ahead, especially in the further development of Integrated Family Health Centres, which are offering many opportunities for nurses to contribute and grow their skills. We will continue to look out for items of interest and ideas that are important to our members and look forward to speaking to you throughout the year.