“I don’t want to be rich; I’d just like to be comfortable and able to pay all my bills without going further and further into debt.”

I became a nurse because it would keep my interest long-term, help provide for my children and allow me to work with people.

I’m now a district nurse liaison. I follow up hospitalised patients; identify patients for referral; participate in discharge planning; and field queries from specialist services, pharmacists, medical teams, and GPs. I also visit patients in the community and cover district nursing clinics when staff are sick.

For me, the joy of nursing is in helping people and problem solving. Some of the most meaningful moments are when I see understanding dawn in people’s eyes as I explain things to them in a manner they understand, or when I leave people feeling just a little better than they were.

My hopes for the DHB/NZNO MECA negotiations are simple. I don’t want to be rich, I’d just like to be comfortable and able to pay all my bills without going further and further into debt. I’d like senior colleagues to have time allocated to do their portfolios in, and I’d also like unlimited sick leave so ill colleagues who run out of leave are not coming to work.

If we were given more time and pay, nurses would not be stressed and in survival mode, which stops creative thinking and often makes them react negatively to additional work.

At the very least, I want to be able to take my son to the movies without having to review my budget, and I want time to spend with my family without a haze of fatigue.