System Change Needs the Whole System
- Stacey Davidson
- Jul 15
- 2 min read
Roll call for the October 2026 retreat is already looking pretty special.
So far, we have clinicians joining us from ophthalmology, public health, emergency medicine, psychiatry, anaesthetics, rural general practice, first responder education, rural emergency care and palliative medicine. This is exactly what we hoped for.
A space where the kōrero (conversation) is contributed to by perspectives from across the health system. Where clinicians and healthcare leaders bring their own context, questions, experience and care.
Cultural conversations towards system change need to move through every specialty, every setting, and therefore every patient interaction. It sits both at the bedside and in the boardroom. It needs to be as present in a policy meeting at Health NZ as it is in a rural emergency department at 2am.
This isn't a training! It's a contribution towards system change, and system change must move through the whole ecosystem.
That's why the mix of clinicians and health leaders joining us excites us. It's not a coincidence, and it's not diversity for its own sake. Every individual holds a unique perspective and relationship with tangata whai ora (people seeking wellness), and experiences a different set of pressures, and therefore different opportunities to change how care is experienced.
When ophthalmology, palliative medicine and first responder education are in the same room, learning from each other, the kaupapa becomes systemic.
We'd love to see that ecosystem get even wider. That includes individuals and teams from every corner of Aotearoa.
We would love to see leaders from Health NZ and the colleges join us too. If cultural learning is going to move through the whole system, the people shaping that system, whether that be through policy, training pathways and workforce standards, need to be in the room having the same kōrero as the clinicians on the ground.
So come as you are. Bring your questions. Be part of the kōrero.
October bookings are open now, with limited spaces available.
