For a landmark moment for nurses in New Zealand, coinciding with International Women's Day, it was a muted event as Health Minister Ayesha Verrall visited Wellington Hospital nurses, who took their opportunity to speak directly to the top.
Stretched emergency departments, working conditions for senior nurses, frustrations around visa applications for incoming nurses and poor intakes for nursing courses at domestic universities all discussed.
Verrall says she agrees that change is needed.
"I knew many of the nurses I sat down with today. When I hear their stories I can imagine exactly what it will be like because they're going back to the wards I used to work on myself. It's very important that I take these regular moments to check in with people who are on the coalface."
She says today's celebration of nurses receiving up to $10,000 as a lump sum payment, and the 14% pay rises for many registered nurses, is a sign of good progress.
It also draws New Zealand nurses closer, if not on par with their Australian counterparts.
Verrall says "it reinforces this Government’s commitment to improving pay, at a time when we’re taking additional action around the cost of living, and reducing economic pressures on ordinary Kiwis".
But the pay rises aren't across the nursing board, with senior nurses receiving a significantly smaller boost.
Ryan Taehan's got over two decades of nursing experience, but has reached a point where he doesn't recommend it as a vocation in New Zealand any more.
"If we don't move forward, if we don't progress and get left behind, I feel like it's easy to leave actually."
Other sectors of the healthcare system are also under pressure, with Auckland Hospital diverting ambulances earlier this week due to lack of space.
In Christchurch, nurse and staff shortages are making Agnus Chambers have to reconsider whether his Riccarton Clinic will have to drop their after hours services.
"It's dire. We've lost roughly seven nurses in the last 12 months to more attractive offers."
He says they've also had to close early for a few weeks because so many of his staff "were burnt out".
They're now considering whether they renew their ACC contract to provide after hours care "because the demands of paying people penal rates for overnights and weekends are very difficult, expensive and probably not paying its way. It would be very detrimental for patient care".
The aged care sector is also on its knees, with the NZ Aged Care Association's deputy president Warick Dunn saying they are around 1,000 nurses short.
"Our sector is a nursing-led service, so having sufficient workforce is critical. I think it's well reported we're short 1,200 beds across the sector. We are a key part of a health service that can't function as we're meant to because the government isn't putting in money it's promised."
He says the future of aged care in New Zealand looks "pretty grim".
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