Stepping Outside the Box: Amy Devlin’s Nurse Practitioner Journey

Stepping Outside the Box: Amy Devlin’s Nurse Practitioner Journey

When Raglan-based Nurse Practitioner Amy Devlin began searching for a placement during her Nurse Practitioner internship, she knew she wanted to experience something truly rural — a setting that would challenge her and deepen her understanding of what it means to deliver care where resources are limited, and community connections run deep.

“I was struggling to find a placement,” Amy explains. “There are no Nurse Practitioners in Raglan, and it was looking like I might need to do my placement in a hospital ward. I really wanted a rural experience.”

That opportunity came through a conversation sparked at the 2024 National Rural Health Conference, where Raglan Medical’s Business Manager, Michelle Meenagh, reconnected with Tania Kemp, a Nurse Practitioner and practice owner of Aotea Health on Great Barrier Island. “Tania mentioned they’d had a Nurse Practitioner intern before,” says Amy, “and Michelle connected us. Tania was so welcoming — she invited me over for a two-week placement in July 2024, and that’s how it all began.”

Amy describes her time on the island as “next-level rural.” Staying with Tania and her husband Darcy, she immersed herself fully in the experience — shadowing Tania in clinic, joining home visits, and being part of the 24-hour on-call team responding to emergencies across the island.

“It’s a completely different way of working,” she says. “If someone’s acutely unwell, whether or not they can be flown to hospital is dependent on the weather. We had a case where we needed to manage someone overnight in the clinic because they couldn’t leave the island. The team there are amazing — they manage with what they have and keep their patients safe. It’s inspiring.”

The experience showed Amy just how creative and resilient rural health professionals need to be. “They think outside the box in everything they do,” she says. “It’s how they live. Everyone is really well trained, from the nurses to the ambulance staff — it’s seamless teamwork.”

Returning to Raglan, Amy found herself reflecting on how that adaptability could apply to her own practice. “It reminded me that we can do a really good job as Nurse Practitioners — independent, capable, and focused on patient outcomes. Seeing that in action gave me a lot of confidence.”

Amy has now been practising as Raglan’s first Nurse Practitioner for nearly a year — a transition she describes as both rewarding and full of learning. “It’s quite a jump from Registered Nurse to Nurse Practitioner,” she says. “I’ve been really lucky to have the support of our General Practitioners and management team. Everyone’s embraced the role and encouraged me to work to the top of my scope.”

Still, there were challenges in introducing the role to the community. “A lot of people knew me as a registered nurse, so part of the journey was explaining what a Nurse Practitioner is and how it differs from a GP. It’s been a learning process for everyone, but the team has been really supportive.”

One of the biggest takeaways from her Great Barrier experience has been connection — both professional and personal. “Tania and I still keep in touch,” Amy says. “She introduced me to other Nurse Practitioners at 2025’s National Rural Health Conference in Christchurch, and through that I’ve found a peer support network. It’s invaluable, especially when you don’t have other Nurse Practitioners around you day-to-day.”

Michelle agrees that the placement has had lasting benefits. “Supporting placements like Amy’s helps strengthen the rural health workforce,” she says. “It builds confidence, connection, and capability — not just for the practitioner, but for the communities they serve.”

For Amy, the experience on Great Barrier Island was transformative — one she hopes other aspiring Nurse Practitioners will seek out.

“My advice would be to go for it,” she says. “Step out of your comfort zone and immerse yourself somewhere completely different. You’ll never again have that chance to spend two weeks just learning, observing, and growing. Build those relationships with other Nurse Practitioners — it’s such a supportive community. It’s not sustainable to do this job alone.”

From Raglan to Great Barrier, Amy Devlin’s journey reflects the spirit of rural health in Aotearoa — resourceful, connected, and deeply grounded in community care.