Bay of Plenty graduate nurses snapped up

The Bachelor of Nursing Whānau group at a recent medal pinning ceremony.

Graduate registered nurses in the Bay of Plenty have been quick to be offered employment, the local institute of technology says.

Of the 90 Toi Ohomai students from Rotorua and Tauranga who took the Nursing Council of New Zealand state finals, 75, or 83 per cent, are already in employment or have been offered jobs.

The majority have been employed in the Bay of Plenty area.

This came roughly six weeks after registering, the institute said.

New Zealand Nurses Organisation associate professional services manager Hilary Graham-Smith said demand for nurses was increasing each year.

"There's a looming workforce crisis because of our ageing population in nursing and we are in need of qualified nurses," Graham-Smith said.

"It's kind of an issue as every year goes by ... the demand increases but we're not keeping up with the supply."

Graham-Smith said 27 per cent of registered nurses in New Zealand were from overseas.

"The nursing workforce is ageing and the general population is ageing. With an ageing population you get an increase in long-term health conditions so demand increases too."

A Lakes District Health Board spokeswoman said there was no shortage of registered nurses at the DHB, but said some areas struggled to find "appropriately experienced staff" at times.

She said eight nurses across all specialities and levels had been employed at the health board since December 1.

"While we do not have a shortage of registered nurses at Lakes District Health Board, there can be times during a recruitment process when a unit might not have its full complement of staff. This is compensated for by other staff working extra shifts or redeployment of nurses from other units."

Toi Ohomai clinical manager Adam Proverbs works with hospitals and clinics in the Bay of Plenty to place students for practical experience.

He said the need for nurses in the Bay of Plenty was in line with the national trend of a growing demand.

"Nursing has always been a profession that, generally speaking, manage to secure a job," Proverbs said.

However, he said the employment figures Toi Ohomai had were usually only seen about six months after graduation.

More than 80 students were enrolled to study nursing in 2018 across the two Bay of Plenty Toi Ohomai campuses.