Cathy Fraser-Reading, a mother of four from Hamilton, had always wanted to be a nurse. But it wasn’t until she turned 40 that she made a leap of faith and gave up an administration job with NZ Police to study a Bachelor of Nursing degree at Wintec.
‘I had always wanted to be a nurse but having four children at a young age delayed the process a little,’ Cathy says. So, when she was ready, she finally enrolled in the programme of her dreams at Wintec.
It was 10 years ago. Since graduating with a Bachelor of Nursing degree, she has completed a raft of nursing qualifications including a Postgraduate Diploma of Nursing, a Master of Nursing and the Registered Nurse Prescribing pathway.
She now works at Hamilton’s Hillcrest Medical Centre. Initially, it was a practice nurse position and now Cathy is a registered nurse prescriber specialising in diabetes and related long-term conditions.
“It’s never a ‘one size fits all’ approach for diabetes patients and as a clinician I find this very interesting and challenging. Diabetes is a complex condition and people with diabetes often have other complex health conditions – it’s about treating the whole person. I support patients in a variety of ways; problem solving as situations arise, encouraging motivation to make and sustain lifestyle changes to improve health outcomes and linking patients in to secondary or specialist services. I particularly enjoy the contribution I make to the management of patients’ medication plans in accordance with my registered nurse prescribing role.”
Cathy Fraser-Reading now also teaches a component of Wintec’s Diabetes and Care Management paper for registered health professionals as well as presenting and sharing knowledge on insulin induction and management with practice nurses at Midlands Health Network.