Capital and Coast DHB celebrates largest new graduate nurses intake

Capital and Coast DHB celebrated its largest Nurse Entry to Practice (NETP) programme intake last Monday with 107 newly qualified nursing graduates stepping onto Wellington Regional Hospital for the first time.

The graduates will be working across the region’s hospitals, Primary Health Care and in Aged and Residential Care settings.

Hutt Valley and Capital Coast DHB Chief Nursing Officer Chris Kerr said having such a large number of graduates in their first intake for the year was “fantastic” and would help to fill vacancy gaps.

“It’s amazing. These nurses will definitely be a huge help and support vacancy rates. It is just so great to see so many new graduates coming in and wanting to work in this area.”

Among the 107 nurses starting their careers on the day were 16 Māori and nine Pasifika nurses.

Hutt Valley and Capital Coast DHB Nurse Director Workforce Development Anjana Naidu said the programme provides an opportunity to develop the Māori and Pasifika nursing workforce.

“This intake is an excellent way to grow and develop the nursing workforce with a pro-equity focus.”

Registered Nurse Lucinda Solomon, who graduated with a Bachelor of Nursing  Māori, said wanting to help a family member with skin issues initially drove her to  become a nurse which would hopefully one day lead into dermatology.

“I wanted to help those in need because I have a family member with really bad  eczema and I didn’t have the medical skills to help. So I thought if I could get  those skills I could go into dermatology. I am really excited but it’s also like reality  has hit me and now I am a real nurse, so that makes me nervous. But I am  excited because it took three years to get here, so I am like, yes I did it.”

Lucinda said she also wanted to focus on helping Māori with health issues before “it was too late”.

“Helping Māori is a big deal to me. There’s a lot of Māori that won’t go for help until it’s too late so I want to get there and give them the help they need before it’s too late.”

Newly registered nurse Bernadette Stander said her first day as a qualified nurse had been a long time coming.

“I’m very excited. I decided to do the degree over four years so I’m very happy to be here right now. I just want to learn as much as possible from everyone around me, absorbing everything. I want to make a positive impact in people’s lives, especially those who need that extra help.”

The next CCDHB NETP intake will be in August where we look forward to supporting another cohort of keen and enthusiastic new graduate registered nurses on their transition journey.