Nursing
Nursing is a great career option in the Wairarapa. If you are looking
to develop your career, maintain your skills, or re-enter the workforce
Wairarapa has many options.
Nursing roles are found in a wide variety of settings from acute
practice to frontline primary health care settings. You could find
'acute' positions in the Emergency Department, the 6 Bed High Dependency Unit
or in the 3 operating theatres; or in ward-based positions in the main
36-bed medical-surgical ward which covers a wide variety of specialties,
or looking
after patients with complex needs in our small and busy paediatric unit.
Front-line primary health care work may be your preference, in medical practices, schools,
clinics, marae based health care and people's homes. There are also
opportunities in longer-term care areas such as like rehabilitation,
mental health, child and public health.
Teamwork and collaboration are an integral part of our practice, and
with the Wairarapa's reputation for 'thinking outside the box', you may
find yourself working with some non-traditional partners as we work
together for a 'Well Wairarapa'.
We use a
collaborative model at Wairarapa DHB which recognises
and values the input of all members of the Multi-disciplinary team (MDT).
Each service area has an MDT made up of relevant staff which may include
experienced nurses, midwives and allied health professionals.
We have a big focus on collaboration. You can see this in our major
project,
'Tihei Wairarapa' which is a blueprint for how our primary and
secondary services can work together to improve the patient journey,
improve health outcomes, and manage and control costs. Particular
projects include the integration of community
mental health services, management of acute demand, care of the frail
elderly and the management of long term conditions. All of these
projects are
underpinned by a Whanau Ora approach.
Wairarapa DHB currently employs approximately 260 nurses and many more
are employed in the primary, aged care, private sectors and with
non-government organizations (NGOs) such as the Wairarapa Addiction
Service.
UCOL run a 3 year Bachelor of Nursing programme through the campus in
Masterton, and many of the graduates are now employed in the Wairarapa.
Nursing Entry to Practice Programme (NETP)
Our Nursing Entry to Practice (NETP) Programme is a 12 month programme
which offers up to 8 weeks supernumerary status with preceptors, and may
include six month rotations that could incorporate inpatient, community
or primary care and Aged & Residential Care settings. Regular study
days and tutorials will guide nurses through the practicalities of time
management, coping with shift work and stress, management of quality and
privacy issues, and much more.
Alternatively our Mental Health NETP Programme supports nurses
throughout the year to undertake a Post Graduate Certificate in Mental
Health Nursing through Whitireia Polytechnic. Graduates work in a
variety of mental health settings throughout the year which will involve
some work in an acute unit within another District Health Board.
Preceptoring occurs throughout the year and graduates are encouraged to
network with the other new graduate nurses employed on the Wairarapa
DHB's NETP Programme.
The New Graduate Programme (Nursing Entry to Practice - NETP) is open to
all new grads in the latter part of the year and is advertised at the
time on our 'Career Opportunities' page.
Nursing Development
Nurses in the Wairarapa have regular opportunities to meet to share
experience and learning to advance their practice. The Professional
Development and Recognition Programme (PDRP) is the formal programme we
use to achieve our aim of providing excellent patient care. Each year,
we celebrate the achievements of Wairarapa nurses at an annual forum
coinciding with international nurses' and midwives' days.
The Professional Development and Recognition Programme (PDRP)
The Professional Development and Recognition Programme (PDRP) is a
contemporary professional development framework which supports and
assists nurses to further develop knowledge and skills to provide safe
and effective care. The programme acknowledges and develops a range of
transferable clinical and personal skills, values and professionalism.
As a professional development programme it sets out a clinical career
pathway for nurses from graduate to expert practice. As a competence
measurement tool, it makes explicit the minimum standards expected of
every nurse.
The purpose of the programme is:
-
To assure the patients/clients of our health service of a safe standard
of care delivery by nurses.
-
To promote a culture of continuous quality improvement, where nurses
seek to develop themselves as health professionals and provide the best
possible services to patients, clients, their families and whanau, and
the community.
-
To ensure nurses engaged in the programme will have met Nursing Council
competence requirements to obtain an Annual Practising Certificate.
Training and Education
Wairarapa DHB runs a comprehensive in-house training calendar. Our
study days (usually 8 hours) are open to all nurses (registered and
enrolled) in the DHB. The topics range from cardiac to palliative
care. Instructions for enrolment, including calendar and details of
presenters and information in relation to specific study days are listed
below.
How to
enrol for study days
Wairarapa DHB nursing training calendar for 2011
Nursing training presenters & information
Support for post graduate education is provided on an annual basis
through Health Workforce New Zealand funding.
New Zealand professional registration information