Nursing

Want to make a real difference caring for people in your community? A career in nursing might be for you. 

The industry needs more essential workers who are passionate about improving health outcomes for others. 

You could work locally or abroad in a range of different specialities. 

Choose to become an enrolled nurse or a registered nurse.

The following training scheme is available in this area of study:

Māori and Pasifika pathways

If you are of Māori or Pasifika descent and are passionate about making a difference to the health and wellbeing of your people you can get additional support on your study journey with Te Ara Oranga.

Learn with like-minded people in an environment that works around your needs and supports you to succeed. You’ll also get connected with future employers, opening doors to your health career pathway.

Learn more

Short courses

Keen to study a stand-alone course?
Whether you want to study an individual course to gain proficiency in a specific area, or are looking to upskill with a short course. This is where you'll find it.

Find out more about nursing short courses.

Potential jobs
JobAverage salary»
Registered Nurse

$47K-$68K per year (with 1 – 5 years’ experience)

$68K-$114K per year (senior nurses)

»Sourced from careers.govt.nz January 2017

There a huge range of jobs within nursing. From hospital based roles, to ones based in the community, nursing jobs that take you around the world to ones that take a step back from patient contact as a qualified nurse, you will have be able find a career that suits you. We've listed some possible jobs in the table below to give you some idea of the diversity involved in nursing.

Hospital-based nursing

Most of those who have a nursing degree simply begin work as a Registered Nurse before choosing an area of specialization. Once you have some experience there is a huge range of nursing opportunities for you to choose from. Here are a few examples.

JobDescription

Burns Unit Nurse

 Work with people who have suffered burns, including fire burns and acid burns.

Cardiac Catheterization Lab Nurse

 Help to insert catheters into aortas to diagnose heart conditions.

Critical Care Nurse

 Critical care nursing is one of the most fast-paced jobs.

Emergency Nurse

 You will never know what sort of cases you are going to get. Expect long, unsociable hours in a fast-paced environment.

Gastroenterology Nurse

 Work with people who suffer from conditions affecting the digestive system and gastrointestinal tract.

NICU Nurse

 Work with very sick and premature babies in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

Oncology Nurse

 Work with cancer patients.

Paediatric Nurse

 Work with children between the ages of 0 and 19.

Radiology Nurse

 Work extensively with cancer patients.

Renal Nurse

 Work extensively with patients suffering from kidney disease and failure.

Surgery Nurse

 Assist surgeons during procedures, as well as look after patients during recovery.
Community-based nursing

Provide health services, preventive care, intervention and health education to communities.

JobDescription

Aged Care Nurse Manager

 Work in the growing aged care industry delivering a range of health services to the elderly.

Diabetes Management Nurse

 Educate diabetes about their condition and how to manage it effectively.

District Nurse

 Take responsibility over health delivery and health promotion in a specific district.

General Practice Nurse

 Work with everybody in the family, seeing them as a full unit rather than groups of individuals.

Hospice and Palliative Care Nurse

 Hospice nursing is hard, as you will be dealing with people who are dying. Your role will be to allow them to do so comfortably and in a dignified manner, and supported by their loved ones.

Mental Health Nurse

 Work with people with psychiatric problems in hospitals or psychiatric wards and prisons.

Nurse Practitioner

 Become a highly skilled autonomous health practitioners who have advanced education, clinical training and demonstrated competency.

Occupational Nurse

 Work in large companies or in hospitals. You will ensure people can work in a mentally and physically safe manner.

Outpatient Care Nurse

 This is a highly specialized field of nursing where you deal with patients who have problems with wounds, ostomy and continence.

Plunket Nurse

 Work with children and families in the community from 0 to 5 years.

Public Health Nurse

 See whether certain initiatives have actually improved the health outcomes of the population and why.
Rehabilitation Nurse Help people who have had an accident or other physical issue to regain as much mobility as possible.

School Nurse

 Work directly with children. You will have some time off during school holidays.

Wound Ostomy and Continence Nursing

 Only some 4,000 nurses worldwide have specialized in this field to date.
Travel the world nursing

The nursing degree that you obtain in this country can be transferred to a license to practice in most other countries.

JobDescription
Army Nurse The army is always looking for nurses, particularly since we are still involved in a number of different conflicts.

Cruise Ship Nurse

 This is a fantastic opportunity for those who want to travel the world. You will generally have a reasonably low workload, but you do have to be on call around the clock.

Flight or Transport Nurse

 Help treat people who have to be expatriated due to illness or injury.

Missionary Nurse

 Spread the word of God throughout the world, while at the same time deliver health care to impoverished countries.

NGO Nurse such as for Medicine San Frontier

 Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) often help to improve the world on a very personal level and offer very rewarding career options.
Non-patient contact roles

Not all jobs require patient content. These are few examples of non-patient contact jobs.

JobDescription

Health Coach

Teach others how to obtain and maintain optimum health.

Legal Nurse Consultant

 Relates to the handling of medical malpractice cases.

Medical Journalist

 Investigate and report on healthcare issues around the globe.
Nursing Facility Administrator Handle the administration in facilities like nursing homes. Generally, you will have very little direct contact with patients.

Researcher

 Gives you the opportunity to pave the way for the future.

Sales and Marketing roles in medical devices, pharmaceutical industries

 This is an interesting field for nurses who no longer wish to work directly with patients. Working for pharmaceutical and medical companies is a very interesting alternative.
Why choose MIT?

In the School of Nursing, we believe in our students and their potential to make a valuable contribution to healthcare at all levels. We want you to succeed, and pride ourselves on the positive learning environment and support we offer you.

Our close working relationships with hospital and community agencies ensure our students valuable access to a wide range of quality work placements. As a result, our graduates achieve a high rate of employment both locally and internationally. These range across many sectors including hospitals, the armed forces, corporations, and community and government organisations.

Join us now so you can have a future full of meaningful job possibilities.

Study nursing at Manukau Institute of Technology

Programmes

The following programmes are available in this area of study:

Level 3
Level 4
Level 5
Level 7

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