Bufty

Hi!

I'm currently in New Zealand and waiting for my registration to come through...having started the process back in May! It's taken a long time to get all the documentation organised and posted from the UK, but this week NZ Nursing Council finally confirmed receipt of everything, so I am anticipating it will take around a month more to process.

I was wondering.....since I have time to prepare, is there anything I could be researching or reading up on about hospital nursing in NZ? I'm sure there are loads of differences between here and the UK (medications for one) and I wondered if anyone had any tips or resources I could search for?

Just trying to be productive with all this spare time I have while I wait!

Many thanks for any help,
Sarah

BEVS

I'm moving this thread into the main NZ forum. Not because it was in the wrong place at all , but simply that I know we have nurses who visit the main NZ forum.

alanmacc

Hi and welcome

Im not a nurse but my OH is, so as far as diff not too many from what I have heard, the lifting and handling proceedure here is not as good as the UK and most nurses are acutley aware of the cost of drugs that are being given out as the whole finding this is different to the UK.

Where are you going to work? north or south island

bourbon-biscuit

In almost every interview you will be asked about your understanding of 'cultural safety'. Fortunately the Nursing Council of NZ has produced a very easy to read guide http://www.nursingcouncil.org.nz/dow...l-safety11.pdf

That'll help with the interviews but also help prepare you for nursing in bicultural New Zealand. There's nothing more important you can do to prepare for nursing in NZ than to read and get your head around that

Tomsk

I'd agree whole-heartedly with Bourbon biscuit. The cultural safety stuff is the biggest single difference, but there's all manner of differences that you would need to be aware of. Drug names are similar, not necessarily exactly the same, but most are the same. The others are easy to pick up. I'm a community nurse, not worked in a hospital for years, so absolutely not the best person to ask for hospital nursing advice, but happy to help with generalised or community questions.
Good luck with it.

Bufty

Hi guys, thanks for the replies!

Yes I had read about cultural safety in NZ and I agree this is most definitely a good place to start. I'm hoping to find work in the Gisborne area, so it's something that I gather is particularly important here. Cheers for the link bourbon-biscuit

I just can't wait to get started....the long wait for registration is so frustrating!