Ossa

Also your other questions about pay, yes nurses make good money compared with other professions, thanks to the nursing union. A new grad gets paid approx 50K NZD per annum (and rising, with the help of the union or NZNO, negotiating with the Ministry of Health), plus plenty of sick/annual leave and flexible working hours, depending on which area you want to work in. And nurses do get pay rise, so the longer you work the higher your income but the most a nurse in a ward earns is about $70-75K. Like most professions, upgrading your practice by taking post grad courses (like masters or phd) will help make you more marketable (higher salary). Certain areas pay more than others, for example mental health. It is a rewarding career, but a lot of hard work (as you probably know, nurses are on their feet most of the time), and some nurses suffer work related and stress related injuries like back pain, I did lol I worked in a hospital as an assistant for years. Working in a good team and with appreciative patients was the most rewarding part for me. When there are awful patients or awful teamwork/management then it's so stressful it can lead to burnout, fatigue, and depression. Knowing that, I still decided to pursue my bachelors degree and hopefully make a difference in the future. You'll find that most patients are great and most wards have fantastic teams! Just be realistic, open minded, and enjoy the journey, if you do decide to enrol after your high school studies. Hope to see you in MIT :) I do mentor first semester students :)

Hi Sophie, I am a nursing student here in NZ. I study in Manukau Institute of Technology in Auckland. You are right about medicine taking long to finish (Uni of Auckland and Uni of Otago in the South are the only institutions in NZ that offer the course, with limited slots) I wanted to be a doctor so I did research: it takes 6 years including the initial 1 year or pre-med (where u take science courses like chemistry, anatomy, maths) and you have to pass with at least a B average, pass the UMAT test (aptitude test to determine if you are fit for the course), then get invited for an interview and pass that too! With nursing, a full time Bachelor degree takes 3 years, you must finish the course within 5 years or you have to repeat, as is the case with me. i took 4 years off to work and travel overseas. Now I study full time (I am in my first year, again) and I still have time in the weekends and after classes to do other activities like gym, hiking, going out. But come 2nd and 3rd year there will be a lot of clinical placements (you go to hospital/community to basically observe/work a shift without pay for 8 hours per day). It's important to pass too but your good performance during clinicals will help you get a job because of the good references from your preceptors. I know newly graduated RNs being offered jobs in the same ward they worked in as students. Be prepared to work hard and experience some burn out, but there is a lot of support for students in MIT and the lecturers want their students to pass (MIT boasts the highest of grads). I'm glad you chose nursing as a profession it will be a bonus too that you do sports! There are a lot of RNs that do sports, I know a few. Good luck!

Work for drug companies?