Recent graduate Annalise Ward is now working as a Registered Nurse in the Emergency Department. Having completed her final work placement at her current workplace, Annalise explains that for each placement they were on, students treated it like a job interview, as a positive recommendation from their placement could make all the different to their job prospects once they had completed their study.
Being born and bred in Invercargill, Annalise was well aware of the fantastic reputation of SIT’s Nursing School, as well as the benefits of the Zero Fees Scheme, available exclusively at SIT for all three years of the Bachelor of Nursing. Having done her research to make sure she wasn’t just picking SIT as it was the closest option to home, Annalise came to the conclusion that with all factors considered, SIT was the most attractive option for her nursing studies.
Having taken a gap year from high school, Annalise knew she wanted to work in the health sector but wasn’t sure in which capacity.
“After visiting different work places and asking a lot of questions from people in the different health professions, nursing took my interest the most as there is such a wide variety of jobs you can go into once graduated”.
Beginning volunteer work as a first responder at St John six months prior to starting her Bachelor’s degree, Annalise continued to work and train there throughout the first two years of her study, giving her exposure and plenty of practice to prepare for a career in nursing. She also Knew a few people studying nursing at SIT prior to her enrolment, and this helped assure Annalise that her high expectations would be met.
“The tutors were more than helpful, the student support services were fantastic and the facilities great. What I appreciated the most was the wide variety of placements I was able to go on. This gave me an insight into a wide range of work places and I was able to meet a large amount of health professionals. Before starting the course, I was very naïve to what nursing would be like. By the time of graduation, I can say that I was well prepared for the kind of work that I am now doing”.