Willock now a cardiology nurse practitioner

New cardiology nurse practitioner Kristen Willock (centre) joins Tracy Low as two of only 19 cardiology nurse practitioners across New Zealand. The two nurse practitioners work with local cardiologist consultant Dr Gerry Devlin (left). Picture supplied

Gisborne Hospital now has two dedicated, passionate and locally-grown cardiology nurse practitioners (NP) working to improve the heart health of the Tairāwhiti community.

Kristen Willock joins Tracy Low as two of only 19 cardiology nurse practitioners across New Zealand.

Together they have a wealth of clinical expertise and experience with a combined 60 years in nursing, with 40 of those years dedicated to remote rural cardiology services.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in NZ.

It affects more than one  in 23 adults and almost a third of all deaths are attributed to heart, stroke and blood vessel damage. Unfortunately, CVD disproportionately affects Māori with total CVD mortality more than twice as high in Māori than in non-Māori.

Tairāwhiti, like other regions, has many patients who are dealing with heart health issues.

“Access to cardiology services in a timely manner is incredibly important and as well as saving lives it can also keep people living well in our communities with heart disease instead of presenting to hospital,” says Kristen.

Kristen now joins Tracy and cardiologist consultant Dr Gerry Devlin to help reduce the specialist assessment wait list locally for  cardiology. Their roles as nurse practitioners are seen as very important in growing support to rural communities, with access compounded by the current pressure on the healthcare system.

Nurse practitioners have the legal authority and are qualified to diagnose, investigate and prescribe — including controlled drugs and specialty authorities (with a few exceptions) and certification of all types.

Within their scope of cardiology, they have direct access to a range of cardiac investigations and can refer for consideration of treatment procedures such as PCI (percutaneous coronary intervention, formerly known as angioplasty with stent) and CABG (coronary artery bypass graft) and valve surgery to help their patients achieve the best outcome.

Working autonomously and collaboratively within various multidisciplinary teams, nurse practitioners can oversee entire episodes of care for patients as the lead clinician.

The path to becoming a nurse practitioner includes a three-year Bachelor of Nursing  degree and four-year Master of Nursing degree, followed by an internship year that consolidates academia, experience, practice, and rigorous case base assessments, of which 150 hours are of prescribing practicum, and working under supervision with a senior clinical and academic mentor.

The final assessment for NP registration is made by an accredited Nursing Council panel for assessment of competence (three-hour case study panel examination) and portfolio presentation.

Kristen and Tracy give special thanks to Dr Gerry Devlin for his foresight in the creation of the cardiology nurse practitioner role in 2020 with Tracy as the first appointment and the continuation of the role with the second appointment of Kristen this year.