emmbit

Hello there from an RN that works in the OR at Middlemore ( Counties)...I dont know where you are at with your application as it is a few months since you first posted. My first job since graduating has been with Counties.....I wouldnt change them for anyone ( unless I needed to leave Auckland). South Auckland is like any metropolitan area in the world....you have the good, and the not so good. This goes for population, as well as residential areas......so dont be put off by other peoples comments about it being "a bad place". If you enjoy working with people from many ethnic backgrounds you will love it here. If not, then maybe another choice of location might be an option. As for having to "live in South Auckland"...this is not an issue. personally I dont live in Sth Auckland...I live central west, however Middlemore has a train station across the road which takes you into the heart of Auckland city (north) or can take you way out south into rural areas. Like all major cities we have motorways that can get you too and from home Climate wise Auckland is great...its in the northern part of the country so a lot warmer than our southern comrades. I hope you make sense of what I am saying...and good luck whichever choice you make Mark

Hi Tanya...I'm sorry I dont fit into either category thats needed...have only been working a few years, and dont have my masters.... However.....good luck with your project....and thanks for picking the Australia/NZ forum....we have some great nurses, who I am sure will assist you Mark

Hi from New Zealand, I am in OR at Middlemore, one of our countries largest hospitals. Although at the moment I am predominantly in orthopaedics, we do work other ORs as well. Nursing numbers for the entire theatre units would be between 150-200. Of this male nurses, of which of course I am one would be approx 15, so say about 8-10% of our staff male. As a male I do not feel i am treated in any way different to the women, or in fact those nurses that are overseas trained. if anything I do find it comforting that from time to time, I get women coming to have lunch, breaks etc, with me.. as "they cant stand the bitching and bickering " that goes on among the female staff. As for guys getting promotions etc over women, its definitely a case of being the best candidate to get the jobs. All the charge nurse positions are held by women, together with theatre coordinator as well. CNEs are women. So why do I want to work where all the "bosses" are women? Because I care for my patients, wanting the best for them, and because i love what I do. Does there need to be any other reason to want to work in this area as a guy. And come on ladies, it cant be all that bad having a guy in the room, who else can you call upon when u need a bit of extra height to get things down from heights etc( I am over 6'). My nursing history is a bit rusty, but weren't the original nurses men of the cloth centuries and centuries ago who were charged with tending to the poor and the sick?? Could it be that women have taken control of what was originally a male profession? Cheers everyone Mark

Hey there, I am a yr 3 student in New Zealand untertaking my Infomatics paper at present. I need to do an assignment, I was thinking as a topic I would do the advantages of using Electronic Admission and Discharge forms. I see many, the cost of paper and postage alone would be an incentive to save money by using this. Is there anyone out there who uses Electronic Admission and Discharge forms, and if so are you able to give me some feed back to back up my argument for implementing them Thanks Mark

I feel I'm missing out in this forum/chat...I'd love to be able to grow facial hair so I can take part in this chat. LOL Seriously though, in the placements I have been as a student here in good ol New Zealand it appaers that goatees are about as far as a man can go, for the reasons mentioned already Cheers Mark

Howdy, I have just joined allnurses, and am particularly interested in a lot of the forums on men in nursing. As a male student nurse, mid 40s, a lot of what has been said in this article, and others in the forum are so true. When I started my course beginning of 2003 there were approximately 20 male students in a group of about 140 students. sadly this number has dwindeled, with dropout rates etc. When on the wards I find there are varying attitudes to me as a male nurse. There are those patients, both male and female who are qute content for me to care for them, but when it comes to getting under the clothes/gowns its a case of "i'd rather have a woman nurse, if you dont mind". To be expected I guess. Some of the nurses I have to work with apear to have differing views on the role of men in the profession. Some are not totally comfortable with us entering their domain, yet with others their arms are outstrectched, welcoming me into their fold. I guess what I am trying to say is that life is not going to be all palin sailing until attitudes toward male nurses are totally changed. I can say however, that here in New Zealand the mens lot seems to have improved in the last 10-15 years, compared to what it was like then Mark