Kate and husband Matt. Photo supplied.It’s been 12 years since she left Ashburton College and trained as a doctor but the old inter-house rivalry still surfaces when she gets together with her friends James Cochrane (Green house leader), Rebecca Polson (Blue), Leigh Burgess (Orange) and Kirsty Naish (Red).
Kate, at college from 2001-2005, said she was a proud Green House member and loved getting involved in any activity going.
“Lipsync was one of my favourite events and my friends and I took our acts very seriously. I was heavily involved in highland dancing so would always perform this at the Music Evenings. I had lots of fun competing in house sports and played tennis and touch on school exchanges as well as playing netball for Ashburton College in my junior years.”
One of her most vivid memories is of the annual chess match (aka water fight) with the teachers in her final year. “I am pretty sure the teachers were cheating with their water tactics but we won in the end!”
In the classroom, Kate was working to a plan to study medicine and after her final year ventured to chilly Dunedin to study first year health science at the University of Otago.
She earned a place in Medical School and finished her degree with clinical years based at Christchurch. Kate also spent time in Tanzania and Rarotonga working as part of an elective in her final year.
“I graduated in 2011 and my first job as a doctor was in Gisborne Hospital where I stayed for two years. While I have always been a South Island advocate, I did fall in love with the rich culture and untouched beauty of the East Cape. It was very stressful at times with the weight of responsibility to make decisions that had significant impacts on people and their whanau and many tears were shed in the staff toilets. But it was also a time significant personal growth and lifelong friendships were made.”
After a brief stint back south working in a GP practice in Waimate, she moved to Palmerston North to start her paediatric specialty training. “I love working with children, they are incredibly brave and resilient. I am now more than halfway through this training programme as a Paediatric Registrar.”
Kate has just finished a six-month job at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in Wellington Hospital to gain neonatal experience as part of the paediatric training.
“A typical day in the neonatal unit starts at 7am, (or finishes at 7am if I've been on night shift). We will round on all of the patients starting with the most unwell. We look after newborns with a range of medical and surgical problems. A large part of this job is looking after premature infants.
“Neonatal care has advanced significantly, particularly in this field, and means that we are able to look after infants who are born considerably early and small. Our day is interjected with rushing to deliveries where there are concerns about the baby, consulting on babies with their mothers on the post-natal ward and performing necessary procedures on our babies in the unit. Before you know it, it is 7pm and time to hand over again. We run a shift based roster and night shifts are my least favourite days of the week.”
Kate can also find herself aboard a helicopter. “We also run a regional transport service to pick up unwell infants from around our region (the top of the South Island to central North Island) and bring them to our unit for specialist treatment. We use Life Flight for this, either a fixed wing plane or helicopter. We often don't get much warning for these transfers and they can happen at any time of the day or night. It can be really stressful as these are often unwell and unstable babies and there are challenges working in such a confined space up in the air. You are also crossing your fingers that the Wellington weather will be kind. Thankfully, a very experienced neonatal nurse is with us and I am always so grateful for their expertise.”
Working with such tiny patients is hard, but there are rewards.
“Having a baby in the neonatal unit is incredibly stressful for families and it is always hard to see the struggles and challenges they face. It is hard to see such small and vulnerable babies go through so much as their life is only just beginning. The most rewarding part though, is developing relationships with those families, some who are with us in the neonatal unit for months, and then to see them finally be able to take their baby home.”
If she could wish for one thing in her line of work?
“Children are the innocent victims of the significant disparities that exist in our society. It breaks my heart to look after children whose health has been affected by their living conditions, poor nutrition and material hardship they live in, and to know that the impacts of this poverty will extend far beyond their current hospital stay. If we can focus on providing an equitable start to life for these children by addressing these issues then we will not only improve health, but we will make New Zealand’s future brighter too.”
Kate counters her busy life at the hospital with husband Matt, an anaesthetic registrar. The pair have plenty of fun taking their energetic puppy Frida to the beach or enjoying Wellington’s cafes and restaurants.
“I am still incredibly close with my Ashburton College friends and enjoy regular catch ups with weddings and, a new one this year, 30th birthday celebrations! I try to get back to Ashburton every couple of months to see family and friends. I can't believe how much it has grown and developed since I was there. Wherever I end up long-term, Ashburton will always be home.”

By Linda Clarke © - 19 September 2017