Few jobs available for nursing graduates

Press, 5 December 1989, Page 8

Few jobs available for nursing graduates

By

CLARE BARRY

Christchurch’s six largest hospitals have so far only a handful of jobs to offer graduates of the Christchurch Polytechnic comprehensive nursing course this year. Christchurch and Sunnyside Hospitals doubt they will have any jobs, while The Princess Margaret Hospital and Christchurch Women’s Hospital will probably take on one or two each. Burwood Hospital has not worked out how many jobs it will have and Templeton Hospital did not have figures available yesterday. About 100 people have applied for jobs at the main hospitals and estimates made to the Canterbury Area Health Board have put the total number of jobs available at “up to 23,” said the board’s professional adviser for nursing services, Mrs Ed Shepherd. It was difficult to know how many jobs would be available, with the unknown factor of how

many people would resign. The main hospitals took on about. 40 graduates during 1989, after an initial intake of between 20 and 25 in January. It was likely further jobs would be available later next year, she said.

The assistant principal nurse at Sunnyside Hospital, Mr James Frew, said there might not be any jobs at Sunnyside.

It was difficult to determine because it depended on how many people resigned. People were holding on to their jobs because of changes in health care, with budgets being a big issue, he said. Last year the hospital took on 20 nursing graduates. The principal nurse at Christchurch Hospital said she did not think there would be any positions for graduates.

Miss Di Barnes said the hospital just did not have vacancies, “and that’s all there is to it.”

Nurses were replaced as they left, but they did not seem to be

leaving. The hospital had just taken on a graduate from last year’s nursing course, she said. The principal nurse at The Princess Margaret Hospital, Miss Ruth Churcher, said the hospital “might have one or two positions.”

She said people were not leaving their jobs, and the hospital did not have the spaces to take on new nurses.

Christchurch Women’s Hospital would probably take one graduate, said the principal nurse, Mrs Isobel Mairs.

It seldom took many more than that, because nurses generally gained two years experience before working in women’s health.

A head of the nursing and health education department at Christchurch Polytechnic, Ms Daphne Manderson, said it was early to predict how many jobs would be available.

It would be disappointing for graduates if they could not get jobs, and particularly if they had

to go overseas, she said. . There was a general shortage of nurses overseas, and this was expected to be the case in New Zealand in the future. Meanwhile New Zealand was losing a valuable resource.

A third-year student from the polytechnic comprehensive nursing course said the job situation was “pretty depressing.” The student, who did not want to be named, said she was disappointed and angry that after three years of living without money in order to get a job, there were few jobs to be had. She said graduates ran the risk of losing their confidence and skills if they waited until the middle of next year for jobs. There was also less chance of getting a job in Australia or Canada if they “hung around” too long. The student said most single people were considering moving overseas for jobs, but this was more difficult for students with families.