Graduating nursing students nervous about delays to job offers

Health New Zealand has declined to comment on the reasons behind the delay. Photo / 123rf

By Bill Hickman of RNZ

A nursing student says he’s “disappointed, but not surprised” by delays in announcing job offers to graduate nurses.

Graduating student nurses were notified on Tuesday they would not hear results of job applications the next day as expected.

Applications for jobs were made through the Advanced Choice of Employment (ACE) process, which matched nurses to positions in the health system.

An email sent to students sitting their final examinations this week said job offers would be pushed back to November 28.

“We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause, but the extra time will be used to consider additional positions across Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora,” ACE organisers wrote.

National Student Unit (NSU) chair Davis Ferguson said he was excited to find out on Wednesday where he might be placed when he started work.

He said he was aware of controversy surrounding Health NZ plans to hire more graduate nurses on part-time hours, but had to hope that the health agency was acting in good faith.

“It’s a very powerless situation, because I can’t have any control over how many jobs there are going to be in nursing, so you’ve got to take it at face value,” Ferguson said. “There’s nothing you can really do about it.”

He said watching the changes in the health system had “been a rollercoaster” during his last three years of study.

“From when I first started – hearing students are pretty much guaranteed a job – to this year, where only 45 per cent of nursing graduates got jobs in the mid-year intake.”.

He said the state of the health system had “strengthened my resolve” to make a difference in his future role.

“We go into nursing, because we want to help.

“I think it’s made a lot of people disheartened and more likely to go over to Australia, or seek other employment in places that they never considered, but I think everyone is doing the best they can at the moment.”

He hoped any additional positions uncovered in the delayed process would offer enough hours to properly support the nurses.

“I hope this delay leads to better quality jobs for nursing graduates. We’re wanting to be looked after by good quality jobs, so we can be the best nurses for our patients.

“Making sure that new grad nurses can put food on their table and a roof over their head, so we can provide a quality healthcare for our New Zealand public.”

Health New Zealand people, culture, health and safety executive national director Robyn Shearer would not comment on the reasons behind the delay.

She said the organisation was committed to “assisting graduate nurses into jobs across the health system”.

Shearer said HNZ was working to place as many graduates as possible into employment.

“We expect to be in a position to make offers by the end of this month.”