Elizabeth Wood is following her life-long dream of becoming a registered nurse, and is beginning the third year of the Bachelor of Nursing at EIT | Te Pūkenga.

Elizabeth Wood is finally following her life-long dream of becoming a registered nurse.

This year, the 19-year old former Napier Girls’ High School student, will begin the third year of the Bachelor of Nursing at EIT | Te Pūkenga.

At the end of 2022, Elizabeth, was awarded the Dianna Lewer Memorial Award for Excellence in Mental Health Nursing. At the time she said that she was ecstatic about receiving the scholarship and acknowledged that she felt “recognised and appreciated, which is nice.”

Having previously shied away from mental health nursing, Elizabeth says that her placement in Community Mental Health last year has changed her perception and the way she plans to practice when she graduates.

“It completely changed how I am going to be nursing for the rest of my career,” says Elizabeth.  

The youngest in her year group last year, Elizabeth is passionate about her future and says that she was able to witness first-hand  the importance of supporting patients. She acknowledges ongoing challenges in terms of the stigma around mental health and says that it was an eye opening  experience to see the level of need in the community.

“People come to you in a time of vulnerability, and everybody just needs a bit more support.”

For this aspiring nurse, making a difference in people’s lives and working with a passionate and experienced team of professionals, contributed to the success of her placement at Community Mental Health.

“Witnessing everybody working together and actually finding resources for people that really need it, is just amazing.”

The opportunity to support patients and to witness first-hand the impact of talking to patients, was both a privilege and life-changing for Elizabeth.

“I really enjoyed being able to be a source of support for people, and to witness first-hand how it’s impacting them because you just see their spirits lift,” she says.

Katherine Williams, the Programme Coordinator of the EIT | Te Pūkenga Bachelor of Nursing, says: “ Elizabeth has grown academically and clinically since her enrolment into the Bachelor of Nursing here at EIT | Te Pūkenga.”

“It has been rewarding for our Kaiako to watch her develop skills to efficiently work in partnership with clinical preceptors and patients. We are excited to watch Elizabeth’s continual growth within the programme and wish her all the best for the coming semester.”