After 44 years as an enrolled nurse, Michael Pye has retired with his last day just prior to Christmas.

After working as an orderly at Waikato hospital, Michael recalls almost accidentally choosing a career in nursing.

“I was a bath orderly when those existed, so helping with cares for patients. I enjoyed meeting new people and then spoke to one of the nurses at Waikato Hospital and thought why not do nursing!” he says in a post on the Te Whatu Ora Bay of Plenty Facebook page.

Michael’s wife is originally from Whakatāne, so they decided to move back there, and Michael started work as an enrolled nurse.

Michael says that at the time there were only a few male nurses but now there are a lot more, which he thinks is great.

“An increase in resourcing into Māori health over the years has also meant having more Māori nurses in our community and hospital, which is awesome.”

There has been a lot of changes in nursing over his career.

This includes less hierarchy and being able to approach doctors and surgeons in a good team environment, which was not always the case previously.

However, Michael believes the huge workloads, especially on general wards, which nurses are required to cover and do now is something that really needs to change.

In the 1987 Edgcumbe earthquake, and more recently during the Whakaari/ White Island eruption, staff and the community pulled together as an incredible team in very difficult circumstances.

“Whakatāne is a neat hospital,” says Michael.

“Strong comradery and teamwork with amazing people. We see the good, the bad and the ugly in our roles but you also make lifelong friends.”

Michael’s advice for anyone wanting to work as a nurse is to find your niche and try different areas.

Vivienne Robertson, who has been Michael’s manager for more than 15 years, says: “Michael has demonstrated his passion in providing care to the Whakatāne community. He has nursed well over 50,000 patients in his nursing career as an exceptional EN and will be sadly missed.”