Mental health nursing in New Zealand
 

Hello all,

Pretty new to all this....

I work in the uk currently as a mental health nurse, with nearly 5 years experience in CAMH. I have a active registration with the NMC. My qualifications consist of a higher education diploma in mental health nursing. I'm thinking of taking a career break and sampling what it would be like to work in NZ. I've only briefly looked into what I need to do.

My questions are:

Can I work in NZ with a diploma? (I was little confused when looking at the skills assessment framework, to see if I reached the required level 7)

How long does it take to register with the NZ nursing council?

How easy would it be for me to seek employment in NZ?

All help and support would be much appreciated.

Thank you.

Josh (who wants to escape England)

Re: Mental health nursing in New Zealand
 

Hi,
I'm a mental health nurse too!
I applied 5 years ago and the criteria has changed and got harder since I applied.
My understanding is you need a degree now rather than the diploma but having said that the council were looking at each application individually.
I remember the application process being quite lengthy and expensive. I think you still need to do the ielts ( exam )
There were 2 parts of the nursing application and I recall having to chase up my university for the paperwork they had to supply.
Basically have a look at the nursing council website. I signed up with an nursing agency Accent and they got me interviews etc and were fabulous...
Just be mindful that although we as mental health nurses are highly sought after there are lots of nurses here that cannot get jobs.
Happy to answer questions... Best of luck.