EIT senior lecturer Adrianna Grogan with final year nursing student Cat Jackman in the well-equipped “ward” in EIT’s School of Nursing.
Nursing graduates from EIT are second to none when it comes to practical on-the-job education,
thanks to support from local health providers and the excellence and dedication of the staff
within the School of Nursing.
EIT Tairāwhiti’s school of nursing is able to place over 60 first, second and third year degree students per year for their on-going workplace clinical education, says school of nursing senior lecturer Adrianna Grogan.
“We are aware that elsewhere nursing education providers struggle to place all their students but here we have immense support from all the health providers around the region.”
“Our Clinical Facilitator Lauren Hindmarsh does an amazing job liaising with all the health providers. Hauora Tairāwhiti have always welcomed our students with open arms and are very supportive of them.”
As well, EIT Tairāwhiti has teamed with Otago University to offer second and final year students a five-week inter-disciplinary education (TIPE) programme that highlights the impact of living with chronic conditions like asthma, diabetes and rheumatic fever.
The TIPE programme enables nursing students to learn about and work collaboratively with students from other health disciplines from around the country.This includes physiotherapy, pharmacy,medicine, dietetics and dentistry students.
Students gain experience in the Tairāwhiti and Wairoa communties and give back from their experience through community projects.
One of the EIT students taking part this year was Cat Jackman.
Coming from Tolaga Bay and with a background of involvement in community groups such as the Gisborne District Youth Council,she was already well aware of the health disparities among people in this region.
“We live in a beautiful place, rich in culture, but coming from the Coast I am very aware of the need to reduce social inequality and
provide equitable care for everyone,” she said.
It was this aspect and EIT’s strong community involvement that encouraged her to study her nursing degree in Gisborne.
She has appreciated the quality of the clinical education by local tutors and the level of support she had received from them on her clinical placements.
Cat’s final year placement was in the area she wishes to work in, at Ward 8, Gisborne Hospital’s Surgical ward.
Next year she has been accepted into the Nursing Entry to Practice (NETP) programme which will support her in her first year of practice.
This programme provides on-going teaching, supervision and support for up to 12 months for newly registered nurses.
Nursing graduates from this region have a high employment rate,with everyone from the previous year now in jobs.