Committee contacts

Natalie Seymour

BN, RN, PG Dip, PG cert HSc. Nsg

Chairperson

I am currently wokring as the ARC Hospital Service Manager for Nurse Maude hospital in Christchurch.  I relocated from Hamilton May 2018 for this position.

I am passionate about care of the older adult and have held a variety of roles most recently Clinical Nurse Manager for a large care home in Waikato, at which time I also completed my Post-graduate diploma in Gerontology. My clinical experience consists of both acute and chronic care consisting of complex community care, ACC wound care, mental health and care of the older adult.  I am passionate about providing her residents and families a positive experience while supporting the care team with ongoing professional growth and development.  During my career I have worked alongside the nursing team to assist and support their expansion of clinical practice, while also working in conjunction with the regional technical institute to develop and implement a successful DEU or undergraduate students.

My professional interests include supporting people to live well and to have choices in their care through individual person-centred care planning.

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Gayleen Watkins

Secretary/Membership

I've worked in Aged Care for almost 14 years since qualifying - I have had a variety of roles (including a period of time as a NM at a small rural facility) and am currently working as the RN at the Leslie Groves RestHome in Dunedin.

Before retraining, and qualifying as an RN in 2004 I had worked as a Radiation Therapist for over 20 years. I believe that quality of life is more important than quantity. This is very true of Aged Care where we aim to provide our residents with the best quality of life possible as they journey through this last stage of their lives.

Over the years I have witnessed a number of changes across the Aged Care industry (some more positive than others).

This sector requires effective advocacy to ensure the best outcomes for residents and staff alike. I believe that the College of Gerontology Nursing provides such a voice, which is why I've been a committee member of the Otago Section for 9 years, and why I’m excited to have been given an opportunity to become involved at a National level now.

A big passion of mine is Barbershop Singing – I have been involved with Men's and Women's Choruses, across NZ and Australia, since 1985. I’m also an avid reader.

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Anna Carey

Treasurer 

My name is Anna Carey and I am passionate about gerontology nursing and care of the older person.

I believe older people have the right to excellent, quality care that is based on best practice. I am currently the Business and Care Manager of an Aged Residential Care Facility (ARC) in Christchurch. I am a registered nurse having trained in Christchurch over twenty years ago. In one way or another I have been involved in care of the older person for most of my nursing career.

My previous roles include Registered nurse (in acute surgical wards), Nurse Educator (in an Aged Residential Care (ARC) Facility), Quality Coordinator (in an ARC facility) and Nurse Manager of an ARC facility. I also spent several years working in a regional capacity for the South Island Alliance (SIA). I had two roles within the SIA, one was monitoring ARC facilities in meeting their requirements of Certification audit process and the other was facilitating the Quality and Safety Service level Alliance across all five South Island District Health Boards.

I believe in always improving ourselves and extending our knowledge which is why I recently completed my Masters.

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Aloha Sison

Committee member

Aloha Sison is a Clinical Nurse specialist Gerontology working under the Nurse-led services of Waikato DHB.

As the New Zealand population ages, people are living longer with chronic conditions and complexities.

Her role as a CNS Gerontology is to mentor and work in partnership with health care staff  looking after complex and high needs residents in the aged-related residential care.

She is originally from the Philippines and have been a registered nurse for the last 10 years. Since arriving in New Zealand in 2014, she has been working with older adults in age-related residential care and acute orthopedics ward. She has worked in various clinical setting including hemodialysis, medical-surgical wards & intensive care units and have held quality improvement and clinical leadership role. Currently, she is completing my Masters of Nursing as part of the Nurse Practitioner pathway.

"Across all the different clinical areas I have worked in, I found a real passion for gerontology nursing, it is a specialty practice that requires a sound knowledge and skills  in gerontology, an appreciation for life’s unique experience and the wisdom to understand that a life with quality  is what matters."

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Napat Sirihongthong

Committee Member

Napat is currently working a Clinical Nurse Manager in Nurse Maude Hospital, one of the ARC facilities in Christchurch. Prior to this role she worked as an RN in another ARC facility and used to work for the Canterbury District Health Board as a Clinical Nurse Specialist – Older Persons Health (Inpatients) based at Burwood Hospital. Napat has been working with older people since she graduated in 2009. She is passionate about working with older people and their families. She is also committed to enabling people and systems to work together as a whole connected healthcare system to ensure better quality of life for older people.

Napat enjoys and has been working with all types of healthcare professionals, from various clinical and cultural backgrounds. 

Napat has completed a postgraduate diploma endorsed in nursing and is currently working towards Master of Health Sciences. She is very keen to be part of and contribute positively to the College of Gerontology Nursing NZNO, working with people to improve the care provided to older people, and enabling people to live well and achieve positive outcomes

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Morag MacKenzie

Committee member

Morag MacKenzie is a Senior Academic Staff Member at WINTEC (Waikato Institute of Technology). Morag teaches within the New Zealand Diploma of Enrolled Nursing and Bachelor of Nursing programmes.  Morag’s work experience has included adult education, aged residential care, occupational health, elder abuse and neglect prevention, health promotion, gerontology and rehabilitation.  Morag has also managed a TBI unit and was a Clinical Nurse Specialist in Older Persons and Rehabilitation.

Morag has facilitated the development of the Dedication Education Units model within Waikato region - a new model for supporting students and staff within a clinical placement setting.  Morag is currently completing her Masters in Transdisciplinary Research.

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Kim Brooks

Committee member

Kim Brooks has been nursing some 39 years, with a variety of nursing areas explored she has settled on Gerontology Nursing. She has a passion for supporting and understanding the needs of the older person.

Kim has been a member of NZNO all her nursing life, a member of the Gerontology section for 10 years and currently is the Treasurer for a second term.

She lives and works in Rotorua working as the Operations Manager for Whare Aroha CARE - wanting and accepting that people want to live normal lives even if they require a helping hand to do so.

Kim is a Hospital trained RN and has a Bachelor in Nursing and a Master of Health Practice.

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Marg Bigsby

Professional Nursing Advisor, NZNO

My name is Marg Bigsby and I am a Professional Nursing Advisor (PNA) for NZNO, based in Christchurch. I have the pleasure of supporting the College of Gerontology Nursing with your work following my predecessor, Marg Cain’s, recent appointment as NZNO Competency Advisor.

My clinical background prior to working for NZNO has been in Maternal and Child Health roles (working first as a midwife and then for a well child provider). As a PNA I have gotten to know more about other clinical areas through supporting individual members with professional issues, facilitating professional forums for members from all areas, and through contributing to submissions on issues relating to different sectors. I have also joined the NZNO Aged care sector group, which comprises NZNO industrial and professional staff, and feel confident that this will heighten my understanding of professional issues for nurses in the sector.