My name is Christine, and in December of 2024, I graduated from the University of Auckland as a Nurse Practitioner, making me the first Fertility Nurse Practitioner in Aotearoa. 

Each year on 12 May, we celebrate International Nurses Day to honour the invaluable contributions of nurses around the world. The date marks the birth of Florence Nightingale (12 May 1820), widely regarded as the founder of modern nursing. In recognition of this day, I’m sharing my journey through a rich and varied nursing career.

Nurses have a long history of working in the field of Reproductive Medicine. Jean Purdy, a Nurse embryologist, was one of the first embryologists in the world and along with physiologist Robert Edwards and Gynaecologist Patrick Steptoe, was part of the team responsible for the first successful IVF birth of Louise Brown on 25th July 1978 at the Royal Oldham Hospital.

I was working in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Century City Hospital in Los Angeles when I first became interested in the field. The IVF laboratory was on the same floor as the ICU, and I looked after a few quite sick ladies with Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome (OHS) who were pregnant with twins (and triplets) back in the days when multiple Day 3 embryos were being transferred. I found the field fascinating on a scientific, medical, emotional, social, financial (there was no public funding in California for IVF), and even spiritual level and met some incredible people with such drive and resilience to create families that I was inspired and hooked all at the same time.

When I was asked by a few of the Reproductive Endocrinologists to help them with their brand new, purpose-built IVF centre outside of the hospital, I jumped at the opportunity and have never looked back. Our centre quickly became one of the biggest IVF programs in Southern California and was the resource laboratory for the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility Program.

Throughout my career, I have seen so many changes and advances. Reproductive medicine is a constantly evolving field with advances in capabilities and possibilities reaching a wider base of the population who would have, in years gone by, remained childless. I have watched many changes, including the progression from day 3 single cell embryo biopsy for limited chromosomes to blastocyst biopsy for aneuploidy screening of all chromosomes. PGT-M and SR have been developed for genetically linked disorders and translocations. More options have become available for third-party reproduction for same-sex couples and single mothers by choice. 

As a lifelong learner, a dynamic area such as this has kept me interested and motivated to gain more knowledge and be able to provide better access to treatment and quality care.

I started my journey after graduating as a Registered Nurse in Auckland prior to moving to Los Angeles, where I obtained my American Bachelor's and Master's of Science in Nursing. I also pursued a variety of fertility-related certifications through the American Society for Reproductive Medicine and the American Association of Critical Care Nurses.

Somewhere in amongst all of this, I met and married an Italian and moved to Italy, where we opened an enoteca (wine bar) and I (briefly) pivoted away from medicine and studied Italian to an advanced intermediate Level through the University of Siena. This served me well when we returned to live in California, this time to San Francisco, as I realised, I understood 80-90% of what the many Spanish-speaking population of the area were saying. 

Prior to leaving Italy, I had been offered a job at a new IVF centre, the latest in a chain of 12 across the US and Canada.  I felt like I was back where I was meant to be. The area was right next to Stanford University in Silicon Valley and the demographic was quite different, albeit really interesting. In order to attract talent, many of the local tech companies offered fertility benefits as part of their employment packages that covered (in some cases) multiple IVF cycles. Given that there is no public funding in California.

In San Francisco, I was Director of Clinical Services, and I felt like I really could not advance my career further without going back to University again, so I decided to pursue the Post-Clinical Master's Nurse Practitioner (NP) Program. Nurse practitioners working in reproductive medicine in the United States (and Europe) are widely accepted and established clinicians within the team.

Although I started down this road, I had accepted a position in Auckland. My Dad was unwell, and I felt like it was the right time to come home. I arrived in Aotearoa in February of 2020, and in March, Covid happened. We had to cancel all of our patients who were undergoing IVF and IUI cycles, which was incredibly disappointing for our patients and clinical staff alike. 

I found medicine quite different in Aotearoa, sometimes refreshingly so and sometimes quite frustrating, particularly with supply chain issues to source supplies and medications that were particularly challenging during the Covid era. The legislation was quite different too, particularly with regard to third-party reproduction. Medicine itself was more evidence-based, with nowhere near the amount of “add-ons” that I had become accustomed to in the USA.

Having started the Nurse Practitioner Training Practicum in California, I mistakenly thought it would be an easy transfer of university credits. I had not realised that the pathway here required specific post-graduate courses before being accepted for the practicum Clinical internship year. I was fortunate to have the support of an amazing clinical mentor who was passionate about education, women’s health, and reproductive medicine.

It has been a long road to get here. The scope of nurse practitioners is still not well understood. Many presume the scope to be similar to a Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS). A CNS is a job role which focuses on clinical excellence. An NP needs to be educated to at least a master’s level and practice autonomously to an advanced level, particularly with regards to assessment, diagnosis, prescribing and treatment of conditions. The NP practicum through the University of Auckland is robust and challenging but has been incredibly rewarding. As of 2025, there are more than 700 NPs in the country however, the vast majority work in Primary Care, where their scope is better understood and is similar to that of a GP. 

NPs are fast becoming an essential part of a Service model and practice in an integrated manner with the multidisciplinary team to deliver safe, effective, evidence-based, efficient, high-quality patient care. I am incredibly proud to have the distinction of being the very first nurse practitioner working in reproductive medicine in Aotearoa, and I will continue to endeavour to deliver compassionate, holistic care for those on the journey to parenthood.

In addition to my clinical role at Fertility Plus, I contribute as a Board Advisor for Fertility New Zealand. I support the helpline and offer guidance to the board. I’m passionate about making a meaningful impact both in my mahi and in the wider community we serve.