Bachelor of Nursing

Graduates will have the knowledge and skills to practise nursing and they will be eligible to sit the Nursing Council of New Zealand Examination for registration in the Registered Nurse scope of practice. Once formally registered with the Nursing Council of New Zealand, graduates will work as nurses in primary, secondary and tertiary health settings; they will be critically reflective practitioners of nursing and they will practise within a framework of cultural safety. 

A nursing career offers great opportunities for men and women from a variety of cultures and walks of life.  Nursing is a partnership with people to improve their health. This includes assisting children, adults or older people recovering from physical or mental illness in hospital, or their own homes.  Health promotion in nursing may involve people in schools, the workplace, marae or health centres.

Máori nurses help promote health and well being to Te Iwi Máori in culturally appropriate nursing services. Pacific Island nurses can use their skills to benefit the health status of their people both in New Zealand and in the Pacific Islands.

There are opportunities for career development in many areas including practice, teaching, management, and research both in New Zealand and overseas.

The Head of the School of Nursing has a responsibility to ensure that all applicants meet the requirements to enter a nursing programme. As this is the beginning point of fitness for registration, in accordance with section 16 of the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act, guided by the Nursing Council of New Zealand, applicants whose first language is not English must achieve a score of 6.5 in an IELTS assessment (or equivalent) in each category: reading, writing, listening and speaking in one sitting prior to acceptance.

School Leavers

University Entrance requirements - NCEA Level 3: three subjects at Level 3 or above made up of the following:

• 14 credits each, in three approved subjects, preferably  in Science, Mathematics and English
• Literacy, 10 credits at Level 2 or above made up of five credits in reading and five credits in writing
• Numeracy, 10 credits at Level 1 or above made up of specified achievement standards available through a range of subjects, or Unit standards package of three numeracy unit standards 26623, 26626, 26627.  All three required.

Or an overseas qualification which is considered to be the equivalent of the above.

Mature Applicants
Applicants who do not meet the criteria stated above may be considered for the Bachelor of Nursing degree programme if they are over the age of 20 years at the date of commencement of the programme and have demonstrated academic ability to undertake the undergraduate nursing degree. For example, this means successful completion of a programme of study at NZQF Level 4 or above.

Interview
For your group interview, you will have 30 minutes to complete a numeracy assessment. You can expect 30 questions. Download a sample of 10 questions here, which are reflective of the types of questions you can expect.

English Language Requirements

Applicants, whose first language is not English, or who come from a country where the language of instruction in schools is not English, are required to provide evidence of having achieved one of the following:

NCEA Level 3 with University Entrance, or

an International Baccalaureate Diploma or Cambridge A- level qualification for which the teaching and assessment was conducted in English; or

Cambridge Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (CELTA), or Trinity College London Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (CertTESOL); or

Successful completion of all primary education (being the equivalent of New Zealand primary school years 1 to 8) and at least three years of secondary education (being the equivalent of three years from New Zealand secondary school years 9 to 13) at schools in  either New Zealand, Australia­, Canada, the Republic of Ireland, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States one of the countries listed in Rule 18.5 where the student was taught using English as the language of instruction; or

Successful completion of at least five years of secondary education (being the equivalent of New Zealand secondary school years 9 to 13) at schools in either New Zealand, Australia, Canada, the Republic of Ireland, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States where the student was taught using English as the language of instruction; or

Successful completion of a Bachelor ‘s Degree, Graduate Certificate, Graduate Diploma, Bachelor Honours degree, Postgraduate Certificate, Postgraduate Diploma, Masters’ Degree or Doctoral Degree, the language of instruction of which must be in English and which must be  from a tertiary education provider from New Zealand, Australia, Canada, the Republic of Ireland, South Africa, the United Kingdom or the United States or

Successful completion of one of the following internationally recognised proficiency tests listed below to the level required of the programme of study and with all scores achieved in a single test during the preceding two years:

• IELTS test - Academic score of 6.5 that includes a score of at least 6.5 in each of Reading, Listening, Writing and Speaking.
• TOEFL Paper based test (pBT) - Score of 590 (with an essay score 5.5 TWE)
• TOEFL Internet based test (iBT) - Score of 79 (with a writing score of 21)
• Cambridge English Examination – C1 Advanced or C2 Proficiency with a score of 176.  No less than 169 in each skill
• OET – Minimum of Grade C+ or 300 in all sub-tests
• NZCEL - a) Level 5 (Academic) or (Professional), b) Level 5
• Pearson Test of English (Academic) - PTE (Academic) score of 58 with no band score lower than 50
• Language Cert – C1 Expert IESOL (LRWS) with HIGH PASS and no less than PASS in each skill or c2 Mastery IESOL (LRWS) with PASS and no less than Pass in each skill.
• ISE III with no less than pass in any band

Frequently Asked Questions

Can the Bachelor of Nursing be completed part time?
The Bachelor of Nursing is a 3 year full time course. Under exceptional circumstances, students can take up to a maximum of 5 years at the discretion of the Head of School of Nursing.

Will I be required to work weekends and nights?
Yes. The courses require that you will undertake placements that require you to work shifts, nights and weekends. People are unwell 24/7.

Are all the placements in Invercargill?
No. We use a variety of placements from Queenstown, Gore, and Bluff and surrounding towns. Students will be required to make their own travel arrangements.

I have a criminal conviction – do I need to declare it?
Yes. All criminal convictions must be declared to the Academic and Relationship Leader before the course commences. Some criminal convictions may prohibit you from continuing your training.

Does a place on the pre-entry course guarantee a place on the Bachelor of Nursing course?
No. The pre-entry course prepares you for the academic study on the Bachelor of Nursing but it does not necessarily guarantee you a place on either the New Zealand Diploma of Enrolled Nursing or Bachelor of Nursing course.

I don’t have sciences or maths – does that matter?
Yes. Nursing is heavily based in the sciences and it is recommended that you have undertaken some studies in both.

Is there a list of recommended text books?
Yes. This is sent out with your acceptance letter.

Are the course holidays the same as the school holidays?
Not always. Whilst every effort is made to match school holidays this is not always possible. Timetables are given out on orientation day so this will give you plenty of time to organise childcare. You may need to organise childcare as you could be on a clinical placement or in class.

Are there any part-time / member of the public papers?
No not in nursing. If you are looking for some preparatory study, you may wish to consider Health Science papers; Massage papers; or Computing skills.

Do I need a current first aid certificate?
YES you do. NZQA unit standard 26551 or 6402 equivalent. This is required before you start (if possible).

Do I need to have any immunisations?
Yes. In order to protect both yourself and other patients. You will be sent a laboratory form with your acceptance letter.

Information for Bachelor of Nursing applicants wishing to transfer in from another School.

• We do not take people into Year 3 of the Bachelor of Nursing
• Students wishing to transfer must obtain a reference from their current Head of School and give permission for the Head of School to be contacted by SIT
• Students wishing to gain Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) must provide a transcript and copies of all the related outcomes for that course. There is a charge for the RPL process. Any RPL for a second year clinical paper has to be approved by Nursing Council. RPL is not automatic and careful consideration is given to matching up outcomes – this is a lengthy process and may require a student to submit an assessment.
• There is no national curriculum and therefore applicants need to acknowledge that they may have to repeat part of their first or second years, thereby increasing their length of study
• Students need to think very carefully about why they are transferring
• Any students wishing to transfer must meet the entry criteria for the SIT Bachelor of Nursing programme
• There is no July intake - you cannot transfer mid-year.

To satisfactorily complete and be awarded the Bachelor of Nursing a student must achieve the successful completion criteria for each paper of the Bachelor of Nursing and attend a minimum of 80% of scheduled learning activities of each paper. This amounts to a completion of a minimum of 360 credits.

The Bachelor of Nursing programme comprises three years of study.  Southern Institute of Technology will in this timeframe and where this is within Southern Institute of Technology's control, endeavour to make appropriate provision for enrolled students to obtain required practical experience in order to complete this programme and to meet New Zealand Nursing Council requirements to sit the New Zealand Nursing Council State Finals Examination. Prospective applicants must be aware however, that, while Southern Institute of Technology is committed to ensuring that all students obtain the appropriate clinical requirements before sitting the New Zealand Nursing Council State Finals Examination, that circumstances beyond Southern Institute of Technology's control may prevent the student from completing required clinical practical placements within the three year timeframe.  Such circumstances may for example include sudden regional changes in medical placement availability as well as other factors.

Graduates can continue their Nursing education with 

• Postgraduate Diploma or Postgraduate Certificate in Health Science.
• Postgraduate Certificate in Applied Health Sciences (Wellness and Rehabilitation) 
• Postgraduate Diploma in Applied Health Sciences (Wellness and Rehabilitation 
• Master of Applied Health Sciences (Wellness and Rehabilitation)

A list of required and recommended textbooks will be available from the SIT Bookshop on the 1^st of December 2021.

Please note that textbooks need to be ordered at least 3-4 weeks prior to the commencement of your study