Conference speakers

I am a New Zealand Registered Nurse. I have worked in a variety of different nursing contexts including medical/surgical, critical care, clinical and tertiary education. My current role is Competency Advisor for the New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO). In this role I support NZNO members, nurses and midwives who have been referred to their regulating authority for issues related to clinical competency. I completed my PhD in 2021 through the University of Newcastle, Australia. I am a practice developer and as such firmly believe in the need for person centred approaches to nursing care, management and education. I believe it is critical to understand the context practice occurs within and the impact of that on safety for patients and staff. I have a passion for nursing and education that has seen me study for many years to improve my own knowledge and skill, and support as many nurses as I can to do the same.

Sarah grew up on a farm between Hastings and Taihape on the Ngaruroro River not far from the Kaweka Ranges. She now lives in Wellington with her partner, two children and their guinea pigs.
As a guest speaker and advocate Sarah facilitates conversations about menopause/ruahinetanga for workplaces, networks and associations all over Aotearoa. She’s shared her knowledge, experience and campaign for change with organisations including Air New Zealand, Xero and Sharesies, Kainga Ora, Te Whatu Ora, the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists, the Practice Managers and Administrators Association of New Zealand and a PHO.
While Sarah is not a doctor, she’s been exploring, writing and talking about menopause since 2019 when perimenopause impacted every aspect of her health and wellbeing in a significant way.
On World Menopause Day 2020, she launched Menopause Over Martinis* as an invitation for people to talk about menopause over dinner (the martinis were/are obviously optional). This grassroots project has since grown into a movement to make menopause less taboo.
Sarah’s mahi often features in the media, and she is an active voice on social media and in her community. For World Menopause Day in 2023, her series of outdoor ads about menopause appeared on 40 screens in 26 shopping centres and on the streets of 11 towns and cities nationwide. She’s even had two awareness-raising teatowels designed to spark conversations between people over the dishes.
One conversation at a time, her mission is for everyone to be informed, understood, supported and celebrated during this normal, inevitable and powerful stage of life.

Dean's clinical background is in clinical education, theatre, PACU and public health. He has spent most of his nursing career in the public sector, and made the move into private healthcare four years ago. Dean currently works as the National Nursing Advisor for Māori Affairs, within the Nursing Directorate, at Southern Cross Healthcare. He co-chairs the AUT Kawa Whakaruruhau committee, provides consultation for the Perioperative Nurses College, is involved in various national research projects, and runs virtual workshops and webinars for rural health practitioners to ensure his message reaches all corners of Aotearoa. Dean has recently completed his Master’s thesis exploring strategies to improve Māori health outcomes, in private surgical settings, by understanding the value of Māori nurses in this space. Dean is motivated to inspire transformational change for Māori patients & whānau by re-indigenising the way in which healthcare is provided.

I’m a Registered Nurse, trained in Rotorua and spent much of my clinical time in the Emergency Department at Waikato Hospital. I was involved for many years as an NZNO delegate and with the Emergency Nurses Section/College. I developed an enduring interest in the effect of the work of nursing on nurses particularly related to staffing. I was involved in the Safe Staffing Committee of Inquiry and later with the Safe Staffing Unit. My current research topic is looking at whether there is a connection between nurses not getting sufficient credibility for their front-line knowledge and the failure to resolve staffing issues.

Suzanne Rolls is the Professional Nursing Adviser to the College of Emergency Nurses, the Perioperative Nurses College of NZNO and the Enrolled Nurse Section of NZNO. This role enhances NZNO members’ professional aspirations and advocates for improved systems. Suzanne works locally with nurses in two regions: Wellington and Nelson, Tasman and Marlborough. Suzanne is intensely interested in ensuring environments nurses practice in enhance nursing care and patient outcomes. Suzanne’s clinical background was in emergency nursing, critical care and general medicine. Suzanne has completed a thesis titled “Exploring workplace violence in the Emergency Department: Are emergency nurses safe?”.

As a professional nursing adviser, Suzanne provides strategic leadership to groups of members and professional advice to individual members. This includes guiding the enrolled, perioperative and emergency nurses’ groups to influence Aotearoa health system. Suzanne represented nurses on the Enrolled Nurse Scope of Practice design group in collaboration with Nursing Council of New Zealand. Suzanne regularly represents NZNO in discussions with government agencies and external stakeholders on behalf of members. Suzanne led the NZNO addressing violence against nurses project 2019-2022.

TechNZHFE RN
Co-chair The National Collaborative for Restorative Initiatives in Health NZ

Jo a clinician researcher, technical human factors professional and accredited mediator. Her career spans 30 years in critical care, patient safety and clinical leadership and she currently advises international government agencies, researchers, and advocacy groups on restorative initiatives, system safety and human centred design. Her notable work includes the design and evaluation of New Zealand's restorative response to surgical mesh harm in partnership with the Ministry of Health and Mesh Down Under and facilitating the development of a national restorative health system framework. Jo is an active member of the Resilient Healthcare Society and serves as an advisory board member for Harmed Patients Alliance. Her PhD is examining restorative responses to adverse events within the New Zealand health and disability system.

MBChB, FRACS (Plast)
Dr Rita Yang is a Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon with an interest in Breast Reconstruction and Gender Affirmation surgery. She has comprehensive training in microvascular breast reconstruction and Gender Affirmation Surgery. She worked for a year at the prestigious Chang Gung Hospital in Taiwan followed by training in Gent, Belgium.
Rita attended medical school in New Zealand and subsequently trained in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery in New Zealand. She is originally from Taiwan and is a fluent speaker of Chinese.