Overview
Chief Executive Officer, Helen Mason.
The thing that stands out in this edition of Checkup is the
amount of discretionary effort that so many people put in. At
the ceremony for the Learning Scholarships, I was struck by
the passion of the recipients and their commitment to ongoing
professional development. They have all proactively sought
out opportunities to learn and develop. They are focused on
doing their jobs whilst at the same time improving their jobs
and the services we deliver. The same is true of the recipients
of the Whakatāne Staff Study Awards.
It was wonderful to see so many showing off their performing
skills at the DHB’s Got Talent. Again a huge amount of
discretionary effort went into organising this event, and into all
the rehearsals that resulted in such an entertaining night.
The Hi-5 for Nurses initiative and the flash mob dance on
the Kaupapa Ward on International Nurses Day clearly
demonstrated that we have teams who find real joy in their
work.
It’s important to us that BOPDHB is a great place to work.
The summary of the Staff Engagement and Culture workshop
was published on OnePlace on 24 May in the news section.
We’re aiming to identify two or three priorities for us to work on
together over the course of the year. I’m optimistic that working
on this together we can make a real difference.
It’s always great to welcome new staff to our DHB. Our three
new General Practice Liaisons will play a crucial role in
integrating care between our community providers, general
practice and hospital based services, so that we are truly
patient and family centred.
Jake Reid and Nitin Scaria Hi-5.
Hi 5 for Nurses
– Pass it On!
Registered Nurse, Nitin Scaria was the brains
behind the Hi-5 for Nurses initiative celebrating
International Nurses Day.
“Rather than limiting the celebrations to our nursing teams, we
wanted to share the celebrations throughout the organisation."
By the end of the day,
Nitin and his fellow idea
originators got what
they wanted - the Hi-5
being passed on and
all staff throughout the
organisation Hi-5ing each
other, celebrating Nurse’s
Day together.
I was earning good money
and had great hours, but
there was no job satisfaction.
Seven years ago I retrained
as a nurse and I haven’t
looked back.
It’s fair to say Nitin is passionate about his profession and loves
his job!
He used to work in a bank. “I was earning good money and had
great hours, but there was no job satisfaction. Seven years ago I
retrained as a nurse and I haven’t looked back."
Nitin has been working at Tauranga hospital for four years.
While this edition of
Checkup is about
celebrating the
work our teams
are doing, it is with
sadness that we
have also had to say
farewell to Gwenda
Ruegg, a dearly
loved and respected
social worker at Whakatāne Hospital who died recently.
My thoughts go out to her family, friends and work
colleagues.
International Nurses Day is celebrated around the world every
May 12, the anniversary of Florence Nightingale's birth.
Nitin hopes his Hi-5 initiative for Nurses Day will spread outside
the DHB and other others will follow suit in years to come.
Here’s the Hi-5 thoughts on nurses from Nitin for Nurses Day.
• Nurses are smart and givers.
• Nurses have no problem getting their hands dirty.
• Nurses make people feel safe.
• Nurses are ready for anything.
• Nurses have great fashion sense.
Front cover: Earl Charters – Canadian First Nations Traditional Dancer.
2