Karen Blair
After over 40 years working as a nurse, Karen Blair joins NMIT to help shape the future of nursing
Originally from Blenheim, Karen studied nursing in Ōtautahi (Christchurch) before moving to Te Awa Kairangi (Lower Hutt). There she worked in a variety of Hospital and Community roles, including as a Clinical Nurse Manger in the Medical Assessment and Planning Unit and in Community Health Services.
Recently she returned home to Marlborough to teach with NMIT full-time.
Karen brings the depth and breadth of her career to the classroom, where she connects her clinical nursing experience to her students’ learning.
“I use real life examples from my clinical work to help tauira (students) relate what they are learning to nursing practice,” Karen says.
It was while working in the Emergency Department that Karen first pursued an educator role. Through the College of Emergency Nurses, Karen educated nurses in ALERT, NZRC Core and Advanced level courses.
Bringing these teaching skills to NMIT has been deeply rewarding. Karen’s goal is to help students understand how health service delivery and access to care impact community wellbeing.
“It is a real privilege to be able to contribute to growing the future local nursing workforce.”
In addition to her work with tomorrow’s nurses, Karen enjoys being closer to whānau and spending holidays together in their ‘happy place,’ Te Whanganui (Port Underwood).
