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Registered Nurse

Tapuhi Whai Rēhitatanga

Alternative titles for this job

Registered nurses assess, treat and support people who are sick, disabled or injured, in hospitals, clinics, rest homes, and nursing homes.

Pay

Enrolled nurses usually earn

$68K-$84K per year

Registered nurses usually earn

$74K-$153K per year

Source: Te Whatu Ora and NZNO, 2023 -2024.

Job opportunities

Chances of getting a job as a registered nurse are good due to high demand for their services

Pay

Pay for registered nurses varies depending on their qualification, experience, duties and responsibilities.

Enrolled nurses working for Te Whatu Ora Health NZ

  • Graduate enrolled nurses working for Te Whatu Ora usually earn $68,000 a year. ($70,000 from 1 April 2024.)
  • Enrolled nurses can earn $71,000 to $81,000. ($73,000 to $84,000 from 1 April 2024.)

Registered nurses working for Te Whatu Ora Health NZ

  • Graduate registered nurses working for Te Whatu Ora usually earn $74,000 a year. ($76,000 from 1 April 2024.)
  • Registered nurses usually earn $79,000 to $104,000. ($82,000 to $107,000 from 1 April 2024.)
  • Senior registered nurses can earn $111,000 to $158,000. ($114,000 to $163,000 from 1 April 2024.)
  • Nurse practitioners can earn $133,000 to $158,000 ($137,000 to $163,000 from 1 April 2024).

Registered nurses can also earn overtime.

Source: Te Whatu Ora, 'Te Whatu Ora - Health NZ and New Zealand Nurses Organisation, Nursing and Midwifery Collective Agreement 31 March 2023 - 31 October 2024.'

(This information is a guide only. Find out more about the sources of our pay information)

What you will do

Registered nurses may do some or all of the following:

  • assess patients
  • plan and carry out nursing care in partnership with other health professionals
  • monitor patients' conditions and record changes
  • give patients immunisations, medicine and intravenous (IV) drugs
  • advise patients and help them to manage their own health 
  • visit and educate patients, families and community groups about health and preventing accidents and illness
  • delegate work to enrolled nurses and health care assistants
  • give further education to trained nurses and other staff
  • do health-related research and evaluations.

Enrolled nurses care for patients while a registered nurse or nurse practitioner supervises them.

Skills and knowledge

Registered nurses need to have knowledge of:

  • how to assess and monitor patients' conditions and symptoms
  • the human body and its diseases and illnesses
  • nursing methods for different illnesses and injuries
  • the effects of different medicines and treatments
  • how to advocate on behalf of patients
  • different cultural beliefs about health and medical treatment.

Working conditions

Registered nurses:

  • usually work eight- to 12-hour shifts, including nights, weekends and public holidays. Nurses who work in the community or at medical centres usually work a set 40 hours a week
  • may work in stressful situations, and be in contact with distressed people, diseases and body fluids
  • may travel locally to visit clients.

What's the job really like?

Registered nurse video

Tafadzwa talks about life as a registered nurse – 5.07 mins.

View transcript
Tafadzwa: Kia ora. My name is Tafadzwa. I'm a registered nurse at Summerset.

Summerset provides care and support to the elderly. It's like a home away from home.

So my role as a registered nurse involves supporting and nursing care for the residents, by doing patient assessments.

We're just going to look at your leg.

Giving them medication, advocating for them, talking to the family, leading a team of caregivers, being part of the bigger health care team, and generally ensuring that their independence is optimised and their health as well.

Here at Summerset we have 72 residents. On a normal shift we usually have three nurses at a time. A clinical nurse, a registered nurse, and an enrolled nurse. We have a team of caregivers who support by providing personal cares to the patients so that the nurses can focus on the nursing care.

The morning shift normally starts at 6.45. I come and I get a handover from the night nurse to let me know what happened during the night. I will go and do handover to the caregivers and I can also delegate them what they need to do during their shift. I will go around, checking if everyone is okay. I can then start the morning medication round.

How are you this morning?

After that I can go and do different assessments, taking blood pressures for patients, doing the wound care, writing out care plans, following up lab results, and any other tests that need to be done.

Sometimes there can be patients who are very unwell, and as a nurse I have to be constantly checking on those patients, to see if I can give them further support.

So once a week the doctor comes. I will explain to the doctor the symptoms that the patients have been presenting with. Then I’ll work in partnership with the doctor, so that the doctor can develop a treatment plan. I can then develop a nursing care plan, for the care of the patient.

At lunchtime there’s another medication round. This is also the time for me to follow up on all the residents as well. It is also the time to follow up on the caregivers. There is a lot of documentation involved. Evaluating the care and interventions that we've provided and what we are going to do in the future. Towards the end of my shift I generate a handover report for the afternoon staff so that they can carry over with the care for the residents.

To become a registered nurse in New Zealand you need to study a Bachelor's degree. After finishing that you have to write a stat exam. During the nursing training one has to do practicum. A student nurse will have to go into a health care facility and they have to practise under the supervision of a registered nurse. During my training I had to do practicums in different fields, which involved mental health, public health, actuate nursing and aged care.

As a registered nurse you can work in a hospital, at the GP's, in aged care facilities. You can work for private health care organisations; you can even work for individuals. It is easy for one to move from one field to another. Sometimes you may need to do extra training, but you can still work in any field that you prefer as a nurse.

Thanks Bill.

Yeah all right, see you later.

Bill: Bye-bye.

Tafadzwa: Bye.

So basically being a nurse, you need to be someone who has a passion for caring for other people. It involves a lot of communication and building relationships. It goes beyond just giving medication. It also about looking at the patient and their family as a whole.

I do value developing therapeutic relationships in a way that the resident and the family determines is culturally safe.

Unlike the belief that other people may have, everyone can be a nurse. Tell you what, I used to be afraid of injections. I used to be afraid of blood but I was given all the training and the support to handle those things.

If someone was to ask me, "Are you happy with your job?" my answer would be, “yes, yes, yes!”

Carer: That's tight.

Patient: Yes it is. It's because you're feeding me too much.

Tafadzwa: We are generous, aren't we?

Patient: Yeah, you certainly are.

Tafadzwa: Being a nurse - you get to know people. You get to help people. You can go back home knowing that you have assisted someone and you can also know that you have promoted someone’s independence, and to me that is rewarding.

Entry requirements

Enrolled nurse 

To become an enrolled nurse you need to:

  • complete a Diploma of Enrolled Nursing (Level 5) 
  • pass an assessment by an approved provider
  • pass an examination for enrolled nurses.

Enrolled nurses care for patients while a registered nurse or nurse practitioner supervises them.

Registered nurse

To become a registered nurse you need to :

  • complete a Bachelor of Nursing, or other Level 7 or 8 qualification approved by the Nursing Council of New Zealand
  • pass an assessment by an approved provider
  • pass a Nursing Council of New Zealand examination for registered nurses.

Registered nurses also need to register with the Nursing Council of New Zealand.

The Vulnerable Children Act 2014 means that if you have certain serious convictions, you can’t be employed in a role where you are responsible for, or work alone with, children.

Secondary education

NCEA Level 3 is required to enter tertiary training. Useful subjects include maths, English, biology, chemistry and physics.

Additional requirements for specialist roles:

Nurse Practitioner

To become a nurse practitioner you need to:

Plunket Nurse

To become a Plunket nurse working in child health development and community-based nursing you need to:

Practice Nurse

To become a practice nurse you must have a:

Personal requirements

Registered nurses need to be:

  • good at communicating
  • skilled at problem solving
  • organised, with excellent time management 
  • able to work well under pressure and stay calm in emergencies
  • able to keep personal information confidential
  • kind, patient, tolerant and helpful
  • able to relate to people from a range of cultures and backgrounds.

Useful experience

Useful experience for registered nurses includes:

  • work with children, families, the elderly or people with disabilities
  • social work or counselling
  • community support work
  • work in hospitals or health promotion
  • teaching.

Physical requirements

Registered nurses need to be reasonably fit, as they may have to spend long periods on their feet, and sometimes have to lift patients.

Registration

Nurses need to be registered with the Nursing Council of New Zealand and have a current Annual Practising Certificate.

Find out more about training

New Zealand Nurses Organisation
0800 28 38 48 - nurses@nzno.org.nz - www.nzno.org.nz
Nursing Council of New Zealand
(04) 385 9589 - reception@nursingcouncil.org.nz - www.nursingcouncil.org.nz
Plunket Society
0800 184 803 - www.plunket.org.nz
Check out related courses

What are the chances of getting a job?

Demand for registered nurses expected to grow

Demand for registered nurses is high, and expected to continue growing due to:

  • increasing need for nursing care as the population ages
  • older nurses retiring – the New Zealand Nurses Organisation reports 50% of nurses will retire by 2035
  • funding in the 2019 Wellbeing Budget for nurses to work in mental health, addictions, child wellbeing, and on school-based programmes
  • an international shortage of nurses.

Te Whatu Ora estimates New Zealand needs 4,800 more registered nurses to meet demand. 

A number of registered nurse roles appear on the Governments' Green List: aged care, child and family health, community health, critical care and emergency, developmental delay, disability and rehabilitation, medical practice, medical, mental health, paediatrics, perioperative, surgical, and registered nurse nec [not elsewhere classified], plus nurse practitioner.

This means the Government is actively encouraging these skilled registered nurses from overseas to work in New Zealand.

Enrolled nurse also appears on Immigration New Zealand's Green List. This means the Government is actively encouraging skilled enrolled nurses from overseas to work in New Zealand.

According to Te Whatu Ora there are nearly 70,000 registered or enrolled nurses in New Zealand in 2023..

Ways for new graduates to find their first job

Chances of getting a job as a new graduate are best if you:

  • apply for roles through the Advanced Choice of Employment (ACE) programme or the Ministry of Health’s voluntary bonding scheme
  • are willing to work in areas of high need as a nurse in aged care, mental health, or community organisations such as Plunket
  • are willing to move to parts of New Zealand that need nurses most. 

Types of employers varied

About half of nurses are employed by Te Whatu Ora Health NZ. Others work for:

  • private hospitals
  • doctors' practices, iwi and Pacific organisations, family planning clinics and other community organisations such as Plunket 
  • rest homes and nursing homes
  • private health trusts and providers
  • prisons
  • schools.

Sources

  • Immigration New Zealand, Green List, April 2023, (www.immigration.govt.nz).
  • Ministry of Health, 'New Zealand's Nursing Workforce the Largest It's Ever Been' (media release), 11 May 2019, (www.health.govt.nz).
  • Ministry of Health, 'Sector Update re the Safe Staffing Accord', 27 March 2019, (www.health.govt.nz).
  • New Zealand Nurses Organisation, careers.govt.nz interview, October 2019.
  • New Zealand Nurses Organisation, 'NZNO Strategy for Nursing 2018-2023', accessed October 2019, (www.nzno.org.nz).
  • New Zealand Nurses Organisation, 'Wellbeing Budget Will Require Nurses' (media release), 30 May 2019, (www.nzno.org.nz).
  • Nursing Council of New Zealand, 'Annual Report for Year Ending 31 March 2018', accessed October 2019, (www.nursingcouncil.org.nz).
  • Nursing Council of New Zealand, careers.govt.nz interview, October 2019.
  • Nursing Education in the Tertiary Sector, 'New Graduate Destinations (as at 31 April, 2019) From Graduates (30 November, 2018)', accessed October 2019, (nurseducation.org.nz).
  • Stats NZ, '2018 Census Data', 2019.
  • Te Whatu Ora, 'Health Workforce Plan 2023/24', July 2023, (www.tewhatuora.govt.nz).

(This information is a guide only. Find out more about the sources of our job opportunities information)

Progression and specialisations

Registered nurses may progress to become:

  • charge nurses, who manage wards
  • clinical nurse educators, who provide further education to trained nurses and staff.

With further training, registered nurses may progress to become nurse practitioners. They diagnose and treat patients, prescribe medicine, and may run their own health clinics.

Registered nurses usually specialise in a role such as:

Aged Care Nurse
Aged care nurses provide nursing care for elderly people.
Community Health Nurse
Community health nurses provide nursing care and education in fields such as disease control, health promotion, and caring for refugee families or people with low incomes.
Critical Care and Emergency Nurse
Critical care and emergency nurses care for patients after surgery, and when injured or acutely ill, in intensive care units and emergency departments.
Mental Health and Addictions Nurse
Mental health and addictions nurses care for patients with emotional or mental problems and addictions. They may specialise in crisis assessment or telephone triage – assessing patients over the telephone.
Perioperative Nurse
Perioperative nurses care for patients before, during and immediately after surgery, assist surgeons and anaesthetists, and monitor patients' recovery from anaesthetic.
Plunket Nurse
Plunket nurses work with parents and caregivers. They advise on childcare and parenting, and assess the health and development of children under five.
Practice Nurse
Practice nurses work in general practitioners' surgeries and medical clinics. They may assist with immunisations, vaccinations and wound care, and provide general health advice.
A nurse in uniform wraps a blood pressure cuff around the arm of a boy in a hospital bed

Nurses assess, support and care for people who are hurt or sick

Last updated 7 December 2023