Any New Zealand nurses from the US?

suzanne62 · Nov 29, 2004

I trained under the hopital based training system in the UK and don't have any diplomas or degrees and I am working as an RN in NZ

Interested Party · Dec 30, 2004

I am in an ADN program in the US and am interested in emigrating to NZ in the near future. I have visited all the related sites in the 'sticky' post but many of my questions were left unanswered. Such as, are US ADN-graduate RN's recognized as an RN in NZ or will I need a 4-year degree before I make the move? The immigration system in place in NZ also has me scratching my head on a few things and it would be great to correspond with someone who has made the move and gone thrugh all the procedures first-hand. I would greatly appreciate any advice that you could give me. Thanks.
~Adam

Email the NZ Nursing Council directly with your query and they will advise what you need to do. [email protected] and their website is www.nursingcouncil.org.nz

ANnot4me · Feb 4, 2005

I doubt you will have a problem registering in NZ once you have passed the NCLEX. You will only need an offer of employment to get a work permit. It took me all of a week to get mine. I imagine you will need to gain some experience before you are able to get a job; however, most hospitals have new graduate programs.

I have been in NZ for over a year now. Why do you want to come to NZ? Not to discourage you in any way, but you should be aware that nurses here are not paid well, they practice in a limited role, and have little nursing leadership/support. I have worked in 2 hospitals at different ends of the country and they were both constantly shuffling mid and upper level nursing management. It is really distracting and keeps nursing from having a very strong voice in hospital operations. It is rather different than the US as nurses (especially on the wards) function on a very task oriented basis: they do things like empty the rubbish, clean things, pass tea/coffee and make a lot of beds. I wouldn't call it gratifying exactly.

That being said, NZ is a beautiful country and a great place to live as long as you stay out of Auckland. The cost of living there far exceeds the income of a nurse and we are now all paid the same no matter what part of the country we live in.

Hope that helps.

pmchap · Feb 4, 2005

I trained in Australia and worked in NZ for a couple of years - getting regisration in NZ was strange - three of us in the same nursing group all when to NZ... The ZN nursing councile took 3 months to provide approval for one friend, 6 months to approve mine and then 12 months to approve the other friends. It seems that the ouncil considers qualifications and experience. We all had a 3 yr BN - all first yr out. The council sent our transcripts to the local polytechs (training institutions where nursing is done in NZ) and based on what the polytech reported a decision was made - for me I needed to do a stint of 2 weeks in mental health (no classwork or test - just expernience) while doing so I worked with a Unit Manager who had previously lectured in nursing in Australia - he was amused at the mental health requirement - given that Australian requirements for endorsing RN education program have more clinical specialty hours in mental health then that required by New Zealand - go figure.....

I concluded that the NZ Nursing Council just likes to make sure that you know that they are in charge...

It was fun working in NZ - a little backward & the pay was average (better now I here though) I have been back in Australia and the conditions seem better here. (I earn more than a teacher , less than a lawer :rotfl: )I can affored to put food on the table & cloth the kids....(mind you I am now a senior RN)... I don't know how a 1st yr out could afford to do much.... espescially if you live in a larger city.

Cheers

Peter

DLPrice · Dec 19, 2005

I am in an ADN program in the US and am interested in emigrating to NZ in the near future. I have visited all the related sites in the 'sticky' post but many of my questions were left unanswered. Such as, are US ADN-graduate RN's recognized as an RN in NZ or will I need a 4-year degree before I make the move? The immigration system in place in NZ also has me scratching my head on a few things and it would be great to correspond with someone who has made the move and gone thrugh all the procedures first-hand. I would greatly appreciate any advice that you could give me. Thanks.
~Adam

I am a US ADN and was able to get licensed in NZ, so unless something has changed in the last couple of years, you shouldn't have a problem. They do recognize that the US has a 2-year RN training program. And once you get the NZ registration, Oz reciprocity is easy.

Diana