Liv_Helen

Hi Everyone! I'd really appreciate some advice on the following:

I have a phone interview coming up for Auckland Hospital and was wondering if anyone had any tips? What sort of thing do they ask? I've never done a formal phone interview before and not for a NZ hospital either, so not sure what to expect!

Also I have a position being held for me at North Shore Hospital subject to references, I had a casual chat over the phone but no formal interview. All very exciting but if I (positive thinking) get offered Auckland hospital as well then I have no idea which one to go for! If anyone has any experience of either hospital I'd really appreciate your help!

Thanks!

kiwigeordie

Welcome to the forum Liv_Helen.
Aside from the fact that I was delivered by a midwife more years ago than I care to admit to, I can't advise on your phone interview. However, based on my admittedly limited knowledge of Auckland, I would say that North Shore would have the edge over Auckland (Green Lane?) regarding potential for property rental or purchase once you're over here.
Whatever you do, don't try living on the North Shore and working in Auckland Central (or vice versa) as the travel would be crippling
Pete

lisamct

I'm a midwife in Auckland, came over from the UK 3 years ago.

I've never been employed by Auckland hospital but, as an LMC midwife it was my transfer unit so I spent a fair bit of time there.
Wouldn't be able to say specifically what they ask as Ive never been interviewed by them but, from other NZ interviews I've had I'd guess the usual;
- what you know about the DHB and why you want to work there
- clinical experience and what you;d bring to the unit
- clinical scenarios
- Treaty of Waitangi
- cultural awareness

No personal experience of North Shore Hosp (although I live on the Shore) My best mate and ex midwifery partner worked there as a new grad and enjoyed it but that was 10 years ago so it'll have changed by now. The medical side of the hospital has a pretty bad reputation but you don't hear much about the maternity side.

Also the commute isn't that bad, especially at shift times outside peek traffic. I live on the North Shore and work in South Auckland and my commute is only 35 mins so would be much less into the CBD.

Ask away if I can help you with anything else...

Liv_Helen

Thanks for your help! I shall go away and do some research....

Initially I will be living in Westmere with family so will have to think about travel options.

scrubbedexpat094

Hi

I worked as a midwife at Auckland City Hospital back in 2005 & also did some shifts there whilst working for Geneva Health in 2007. It's no longer on Green Lane & is now situated on the main Grafton Road site.

I worked on Tamaki ward which was then categorised as a low-to-med risk ward. Imagine my surprise when I found it to be practically all LSCS women & Hyperemesis, usually below 12 weeks. It was awful. Plus there was a lot of bullying going on from the Kiwi staff towards British m/w's. I know that was still continuing in 2007. It's apparently much better now & they've removed the 'low-risk' category.

Ward 96/98(high-risk) at ACH was okay, has some very interesting antenatal cases. Women's Assessment Unit was okay too. I only had one shift on Delivery suite & was a very quiet 12 hours. So I can't tell you much about that.

Parking is a nightmare at ACH & it would put me off working there. You don't get to do many normal deliveries here as the L.M.C's do the majority. How you'll settle in will depend on how long you've been qualified, where you've worked before, your adaptability to change etc.
I don't adapt well, especially when I see poor practice. I'd been qualified a good few years before I came to NZ & didn't like what I saw. People who are newer to the profession seem to fit in much better IMO. I just felt that as a hospital midwife I had less autonomy than in the NHS. Hence I quit the workforce 4.5 years ago, sadly.

I had an interview with North Shore back in 2007 but didn't like the feel of the place back then. The delivery suite manager at that time was not very supportive of her staff but would fawn over the LMC's. Lots of my previous colleagues from ACH & Birthcare were testament to this. I believe that things have improved greatly under the new manager & there are lots of British midwives working there.
Parking has improved considerably since I first looked there, which is important when working in a stressful job.

The NSD usually ship out of the main hospitals after delivery & head to one of the birthing units such as Birthcare, Parnell or Warkworth.

All my interviews for jobs have been very laid-back & have involved very little in the way of clinical stuff . However I did get asked the most bizarre question of my career for the ACH, Tamaki ward job. "When did you last delight a patient?"

All the best with the interview. Lisamct has covered what they are likely to ask.

marblep

I only have experience as a patient. I developed pre-eclampsia and found the Auck Hospital team amazing. They looked after me incredibly. The midwifes (UK, NZ, SA, Indian) were brilliant. We were very impressed and thankful. That was back in 2008. I wish you all the best, you have a valuable skill.

SueMF

You may have had your interviews by now. I was offered a job at North Shore but they told me if I liked delivering babies I would probably only last a year there before I would move on as there were very few opportunities as a hospital midwife to deliver. The staff seemed very friendly though. Based on this information I ended up working at Botany Maternity Unit. I have no experience of Auckland Hospital. Hope that helps.

PuginAKL

Hi there,

I'm a Social Worker from the UK who's just grabbed a role in NZ. My experience of interviews will be very different to yours as clinical aspects I have nothing to do with. But from my experience of the health care system in NZ the Treaty played a massive role in my interview.

There's an online course about the Treaty and Healthcare I sat, cost about twelve quid. Was really helpful and I'd recommend doing it.

BEVS

Karma for a very helpful post.


Is this the course you mentioned? HERE

PuginAKL

Ta' very much!

Yep it's that one there. I spend a good 45 mins on it, I guess you could whizz through it BUT information I gained through that course I used in my interview directly; so I would take the time with it.

I've also contacted local Maori community groups in the area I'm moving to, I'm a big believer in health professionals being part of the community no separate from it; it could be a good idea as well, although it may be more applicable to me as a SWr. However it can't do any harm to know the community your serving I reckon! Also there's alot of Maori ceremony around births traditionally (pretty common trait for most cultures I guess), might be worth finding out what these are and how common they are now?

lisamct

The focus on the Treaty and cultural competence has been there but has been pretty basic in my midwifery interviews. They want to know your aware of the existence of the Treaty and the 3 P's (Partnership. Participation and Protection) but don't expect you to know it inside and out (that's why you have compulsary cultural competency training including 2 days just on the Treaty as part of your overseas registration courses)
I pretty much covered the cultural awareness side at interviews by clarifying that the UK has a huge variety of cultures and religions (more than NZ I guess) and therefore I already worked in a very culturally aware way and was already accustomed to adapting my practice to fit around cultural and religious practices around pregnancy and birth.