12 May 2025
We had a kōrero with Holly Nicholl, one of our Plunket Nurses in the Whangārei team, who has been with us for about four years, to find out more about why she became a nurse and how she recently become an authorised vaccinator for the Immunisation Pilot project.
A bit about yourself...
I whakapapa to Ngāpuhi. I was born at Rawene in the Hokianga and grew up in Whangārei. My mum lives at our homestead in Taheke, and I’m based in Whangārei with my partner and our three tamariki aged 16, 13 and 11.
Where did your journey start with nursing?
Nursing became part of my life quite early on. I come from a whānau of nurses as both my mum and my brother were registered nurses, so I grew up with nursing. After school, I’d go and hang out with my mum at her work and I started to become more interested. I think seeing my whānau work in nursing and hearing their experiences inspired me. From there, I completed a Bachelor of Nursing at North Tec.
Why did you want to work for Plunket?
When I had my first baby, I enrolled with Plunket and really liked that it was a welcoming and relaxing environment. As part of my training, I did my student placement at Plunket and really enjoyed it and wanted to stay on. It means I can also bridge the gap between Plunket and my community working with whānau and building these relationships.
Why did you want to become an authorised vaccinator?
I put my hand up to become a vaccinator as I’m always keen to keep on learning and upskill where I can. I saw a decline in whānau getting immunised in our community, and wanted to help improve that. Anything that helps Māori pēpi and tamariki stay well and be protected is important to me.
I saw there was an opportunity for me to be involved, as I had whānau asking me about vaccinations and wanting to get their tamariki immunised when they brought them in for appointments. I could see the benefit of offering vaccinations to make it easier for whānau and the importance of having conversations with them to give advice and make them feel reassured.
What have you enjoyed about the immunisation mahi?
I’ve really enjoyed the connections I’ve made with the Health New Zealand immunisation outreach team, learning how we can work together and help each other. I also really like the ‘hands on’ practical nursing skills involved in administering vaccinations and learning about the equipment. It’s been great to provide this immunisation service in our area and know that we can make it more accessible for whānau.