Questions regarding applying to NZ nursing programs

[Healingtouch0915]

Hello, I am from the U.S., and I am deeply interested applying and studying at a NZ university for a nursing degree. I wish to ultimately stay there, and work in areas where they have nurse shortages such as the country side.

I am mostly curious about how post-graduates apply to bachelor's programs there.

In the U.S., a bachelor's holder of art for example, can simply go back to school and major in a second bachelor's in physics for example.

I noticed most acceptance/application information provided in NZ universities pertain to secondary/high school applicants.

Can bachelor degree holder simply just apply for another bachelor's program in NZ as long as they have prerequisites met?

For example, I am a sociology major that also took pre-healthcare courses in the United States (this would be the equivalent of year 1 or 2 for medical/pharmacy/physical therapy/nursing etc in NZ). In the U.S., before applying to a healthcare career program, one must complete prerequisites

This is why, in NZ medical school for example is 6 years, here it is 4 (since the first 1-2 years is covered during our bachelors).

I am applying this cycle to start in the spring/summer 2019 courses, here in the U.S., but honestly, if I could get accepted to NZ universities and have a chance to work there I'd most likely take that chance.

I have thought deeply and long about this, and I definitely wish to get some more information :)

[YeXinZhi, BSN, RN]

Hello,

I would directly contact the university or polytech you are interested in.

NZ nurses do their Bachelor of Nursing straight after graduation from high school. There is no need to do prerequisites. The BN programme in NZ is 3 years long.

I thik NZ education is cheaper than in the US but as a non-resident, and I'm presuming you are, you will not be eligible for government subsidies or loans and will need to pay the fees upfront, if and when you are interested.

On a student visa you are allowed to work a maximum of twenty hours per week unless it is semester break then you can work however many hours you wish.

The cost of living is high in most places, especially food. You will have to factor that in when making a decision. As a nurse with 10 years experience I was earning $32 per hour basic pay, but after weekend and shift differentials I ended up earning more than $NZ80,000 last financial year of which $21,000 was taken out in taxes (so left me with roughly 6

$60,000+). My rent was $1,560/month for a very tiny studio in Auckland. At the end of the day, it is not bad. NZ has an excellent healthcare system that is totally free for residents and citizens, so you don't have to pay for health insurance.

The working conditions are so worker friendly. Kiwis love their work-life balance and I got so used to it that when I moved to the US I was appalled at the working conditions here. Kiwis get a minimum of 4 weeks annual leave, an additional 1 week if you work shifts. The weekend penalty rates are 150%, night and afternoon shifts 125%, public holidays 200%. On my 12 hour shifts I got three (yes three!) 30-minute breaks (here in the US I get one 30-minute break and one 15-minute break). The nurses union is powerful and there is no culture of frivolous litigation like in the US (unless you are negligent of course).

I had the time of my life living there for 5 years. I enjoyed every single corner of the country I explored and if only my family and friends lived there I would've stayed for good (not to say I didn't make any close friends,I did). New Zealand is a beautiful country and it will all be worth it.

I wish you luck!

[Healingtouch0915]

This was not the response I was expecting! Meaning, it is way more information than I could ask for. Thank you so much for such a detailed reply. I really did not expect to get some information regarding the working conditions there and all as well. I was actually really interested in the lifestyle there as well as well as salary etc. I have visited NZ and have done my research, so I have a pretty good understanding of what to expect, but a personal story is much better I think!

I am pretty familiar with the tuition process and what to expect as a student there, but thank you for the additional information. I do have some money stashed up + loans I could make in case this happens!

I did as some schools such as Massey etc. and they do accept older applicants or non-science bachelor's as long as they have some science "background." Also, many schools you would be sort of entering into second year as well (I do not know in case of Massey, it seemed like you would start 1st year). I do have to take some personality assessment tests and obtain first aid certs as well.

I am highly surprised by the salary and weekend penalties actually. I am a pretty simple guy honestly, and don't care much for big houses or nice cars as long as there is a cross fit gym or brazillian jiu jitsi gym nearby lol. I do not mind living in a tiny studio apartment.

The food price does seem to be a bit of an issue actually. I actually love to cook and do meal preps. Are groceries also generally more expensive as well? I most likely would eat at home other than getting getting my flat whites here and there.

I am very surprised at the work-life balance atmosphere. I honestly do not mind grinding, which is why I even thought about entering the healthcare field. but it would be nice to have a bit of balance so I can do some volunteer work on work out to keep in shape. This is quite surprising because for me, the U.S. doesn't seem as bad as some places such as Japan, where work hours are crazy for all professions. I feel it is quite important to have a great work life balance, so that you can regain the energy to work even harder when the time calls for it.

I do have one last question, which you may not be too familiar with. If I do end up getting my BN in NZ, my end goal as a nurse is to become a ARNP/NP. I understand the process to become an NP in the states, but do you have any information regarding doing so in NZ? Any other additional information would be thankful!

Again, I want to thank you so much for the wo