Committee

The current members of the Nurses for Children and Young People Aotearoa national section are:

Position Name
Chairperson Rebecca Conway
Secretary/Conference Linda Jackson
Treasurer Lydia Snell
Membership Coordinator Amberley Thomson
Vice Chair/Communications/Conference Cate Fraser-Irwin
CYPress Newsletter Leaha North
Treasurer in Waiting/Conference Cate Fleckney
Journal Management Board Sharon Payne
Professional Nursing Advisor, NZNO Kate Weston

 Committee member profiles

  • Becky Conway - Chairperson I am privileged to be a member of the NCYPA committee, where I can consider more widely the health needs of New Zealand children and will respond thoughtfully to policy which concerns children and their families by way of submissions.  I am proud to have worked “at the coalface” as a staff nurse in a paediatric surgical ward at Christchurch Hospital for nearly twenty years. I have recently been appointed to a Nurse Educator position in Child Health and bring enthusiasm, creativity and clinical experience surrounding children and surgery to this new role.
     
  • Lydia Snell - Treasurer I work as a Paediatric Liaison Nurse (PLN) for the Bay of Plenty District Health Board. My place of work is the community of the Eastern Bay of Plenty. I returned to nursing after being a fulltime mother of 4 children, now all adults. I worked in the local maternity unit for four years, covering shifts in antenatal, postnatal and the level 2 Special Care baby unit. I then moved into Public Health Nursing (PHN). I took on major roles in TB work, Wellchild provision, and also helped in coordinating the 2005 MeNZ B campaign, as well as working with children and their families through schools. During my time as a PHN I completed two post grad certificates, the Child and Family Health Nursing certificate, and Primary Health Care Specialty Nursing certificate. I also gained a Certificate of Proficiency in Professional Supervision. In my role as a PLN, I work as part of a family health team which consists of two 0.5 FTE social workers and myself fulltime. We work together to deliver child health services which are integrated across, primary and community services. A large proportion of the families we work with are Maori and also from high deprivation areas. I look forward to being able to work on the NCYPA committee to advocate for those who often do not have a voice.terest in oncology and palliative care.
     
  • Linda Jackson - Secretary I am a RGON but initially completed my RGN and RSCN in the UK in the 1990’s. I practiced in a wide variety of paediatric settings in the UK at Alder Hey Childrens Hospital  in Liverpool but in the longer term I specialised in Paediatric Burns/Plastics for 10 years. Undertaking post graduate study in adult education.
    Since arriving in NZ I have had more strategic roles in paediatrics. Initially employed in Kidz First, then as the Clinical Nurse Educator for Gynaecology and finally moving back into my chosen field as CNE for Burns and Plastics at Middlemore Hospital. I was particularly involved with education around care of complex paediatric burn patients in the adult centre. I also ran a 30 point 2 semester speciality paper for the University of Auckland for a couple of years in plastic surgery nursing – this incorporated both adult and paediatric perspectives.
    I am currently the CNE in General Surgery for MercyAscot Hospitals, the largest private surgical care providers in NZ. We cater for a number of children receiving surgical interventions both privately and through DHB contracts. My role involves leading our paediatric advisory group to review and develop paediatric policy/procedure, plus provide education to enable the meeting of local and international best practice and therefore provide excellence in care. I am particularly interested in children receiving surgical care in the adult setting and really looking forward to the opportunity this committee position will give me to be involved with paediatric care on a wider context as well as assist me in my local goals for paediatric care provision.
     
  • Sharon Payne - Journal Management Board I am currently employed as a Nurse Practitioner in the Emergency Department of Hawkes Bay Hospital. My scope of practice includes the care of patients of all ages but with a specialty of children. My scope around children includes minor injury or illness to providing leadership during resuscitation. I really enjoy working with children and their families and making their ED experience memorable in a positive way, by providing good pain relief, appropriate age related communication and ensuring we go out of our way to make our department child friendly. I teach the Emergency Nurses paediatric course in NZ and Australia and also teach ACLS – mainly the paeds section. Occasionally in my spare time I do shifts in a primary health care facility, and have worked in Australia which provides me with a depth of how it is over a variety of places.
     
  • Cate Fraser-Irwin - Vice Chair/Communications/Conference I work as a clinical nurse specialist at Starship case managing children who have liver disease pre & post transplant & intestinal failure. Our service works nationally in partnership with shared care teams. It is a real privilege to problem solve and collaborate with nurses to keep children & young people in their own communities where ever possible balanced against ensuring timely access for these medically fragile children to specialist services. We work with families at their most vulnerable, their experiences inspire me to work towards improved services across the child health sector.  In my spare time I am a district youth manager for St John youth, responsible for a large team of volunteers who lead & facilitate the delivery of the youth program.  This provides me with a much needed balance and energy.  I am very excited about the future of paediatric nursing & look forward to encouraging  as many of our membership to participate actively in the activities of NCYPA, ensuring we remain relevant and are heard where it counts!
     
  • Leaha North - CYPress Newsletter I returned home to Wellington 3 years ago (with a husband and daughter), after working 15 years in the U.K and 18 months in Gibraltar. I am currently working as Nurse Educator for Paediatrics at Capital Coast District Health Board. This role covers 2 in patient wards, ambulatory paediatric service and the paediatric community nurses. I also work closely with my counterparts in the Hutt and Wairarapa as part of 3DHB integration.I have over 18 years extensive paediatric nursing knowledge and experience working in a variety of Hospital and Community settings in New Zealand and overseas. I am passionate about teaching, mentoring and supporting the learning of my colleagues.I am honoured to have been elected onto the committee, it is a fantastic opportunity to contribute, advocate and support my paediatric colleagues and continuing to strive for the highest standard of quality care for children, young people and their families/whanau.
     
  • Cate Fleckney - Treasurer in Waiting/Conference I am currently the Charge Nurse Manager of the Centre for Youth Health in Counties Manukau.  This is small specialist multidisciplinary team with a vision to support young people to reach their full potential through advocacy, clinical service delivery, education,, leadership and research. Being the Charge Nurse of this team is a diverse role as I am able to be involved in many aspects of health care including management, education, research and speciality practice  Prior to this I was a Paediatric Emergency Nurse Educator from 2007-2011 and a Child Protection Nurse Specialist from 2004-2006.  I have also enjoyed many other nursing roles in New Zealand and overseas choosing to specialise in Child and Youth Health in 2001.  I graduated from Otago Polytechnic in 1995 with a Bachelor of Nursing and completed my Masters in Nursing in 2011 at Auckland University with a thesis on the 'Provision of Acute Care to Young People: A Consumer and Healthcare Provider Perspective'.  Throughout my nursing career I have continued to seek opportunities to promote this unique, privileged and challenging and exciting profession and look forward to being a committee member and contributing to the development of nurses with a special interest in children and young people.
     
  • Amberley Thomson – Membership Coordinator I currently am the Nurse Educator (0.7) for Children’s Health in Dunedin Hospital, and I also work on our Children’s Unit (0.3) as a senior RN of our team. We have a 16 bed ward, which caters for a realm of different specialties. I graduated from Otago Polytechnic in 2002, and began my new graduate year in Timaru before heading overseas. My career in Paediatrics started in the Children’s Unit in Dunedin in 2005 on my return from the UK, and I became the Nurse Educator in 2009. I have recently completed my Masters of Nursing (Clinical) through Massey at the end of 2012. I am excited to have joined the committee for NZCYPA, firstly as a representative for the lower part of the South Island and secondly as a connection for resources and knowledge sharing in children’s and young person’s issues in New Zealand. My own special interests in nursing are in wound care and diabetes. I also have a passion for ongoing education and professional development and encouraging my fellow colleagues to extend their horizons.
     
  • Kate Weston - Professional Nursing Advisor NZNO I am a Registered General and Obstetric nurse, having undertaken a hospital based programme at Palmerton North Hospital, completing in 1982. I undertook subsequent education, gaining a BA (Social Sciences) qualification majoring in Nursing Studies. I also hold a Masters of Nursing (Hons.) degree. My experience in nursing has been diverse, in both community and hospital settings, with a focus on Children’s and Women’s Health. I am passionate about quality care delivery and was previously the Quality of Service Manager in the Child, Women and Family Service, Waitemata DHB. I am currently employed as a Professional Nursing Adviser (PNA) , a position that I took up in May 2008. Part of my role as PNA is to provide support to NYCPA, The College of Neonatal Nurses Aotearoa, Flight Nurses and Respiratory Nurse Specialists. I am also the link person for the Midwives Network. Email contact: katew@nzno.org.nz.
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