Introducing Amanda Harris

The role that was worth the wait

Read Amanda’s story to discover how a passion for mental health led her to a career as a Health Improvement Practitioner - and how she’s helping shape what the role can become.

Finding her people

Amanda’s journey into healthcare started unexpectedly.
During a school work-experience placement, she chose a mental health day programme because it seemed like the easiest option. Instead, she found something that would shape the direction of her career.

“I found my people. It was accidental, really, but I found I just loved talking and connecting with people.”

After continuing to volunteer at the programme, Amanda went on to study nursing and build several years of experience in forensic mental health nursing.

When she moved to New Zealand in 2005, she was determined to continue supporting mental health in a primary care setting. There was just one problem — the role she wanted didn’t exist yet.

“It’s exactly where I had always wanted to be, I just had to wait for it to be invented.”

Finding the right fit at Tāmaki Health

After working as a mental health coordinator at the Manukau Institute of Technology School of Nursing, Amanda eventually received a call about a new opportunity in Pukekohe.

“They said, ‘Hey, this role’s come up in Pukekohe, and it’d be right up your alley.’ That’s pretty much how I became a health improvement practitioner, and I’ve never looked back.”
Amanda now works as a Health Improvement Practitioner at Seddon Medical and is the clinical lead for almost 50 Health Improvement Practitioners and Health Coaches across the Tāmaki Health network.

For Amanda, the role provides the opportunity to support people before they reach crisis point and work across a broad range of health and wellbeing needs.

“We’re able to give people the tools they need, so they don’t get to that crisis point.”

Making a difference through new pathways

Amanda’s role continues to evolve as Tāmaki Health explores new ways to improve access to mental health and wellbeing support.

New pathways are being developed to respond to rising youth anxiety, support diabetes management and conduct ADHD pre-assessments.

Amanda has also helped improve access to HIP support for Pacific patients. After data showed Pacific patients were accessing Health Coaches at a much higher rate than HIPs, a handover pilot was introduced at two practices. The number of Pacific patients seeing HIPs increased by 30 per cent and 50 per cent respectively, and the initiative has since been rolled out across the wider network.

For Amanda, there is still plenty of potential for the role to grow.

“I would love to see HIPs in the secondary mental health space; we’re trained in a kind of brief intervention therapy, and I think we could help reduce the workload in many areas.”

A career with purpose

Amanda’s story is a great example of how healthcare careers can evolve alongside the needs of patients and communities.

What started with an unexpected work-experience placement eventually led to a career in mental health, primary care and health improvement — and now an opportunity to help shape the future of the profession.

“I found my people.”

Today, Amanda is a finalist for the reCare Health Improvement Practitioner of the Year category at the 2026 New Zealand Primary Healthcare Awards | He Tohu Mauri Ora.