Nursing has now been part of WITT for 30 years.
It was first taught in January 1982 at the then Taranaki Polytechnic, which has since become the Western Institute of Technology in Taranaki.
This year, WITT is also celebrating – 40 years of being part of the education scene in Taranaki.
Since that first intake of 48 nursing students, close to 2000 graduates have learnt their patient-care skills at the institute.
Many of those have gained the Bachelor of Nursing degree, which was first offered at WITT in 1996, says nursing co-head Diana Fergusson.
This year, there are places for 120 students in the Bachelor of Nursing degree, which was first offered in 1996.
Diana says nurses from WITT are well regarded throughout the country. “I think they are good graduates because we have slightly smaller classes than the bigger institutes and so we can provide more pastoral care and academic support.”
Senior nursing lecturer Pat Radford says the graduates are able to work anywhere. “They go all over the country and we get positive feedback.”
WITT students also do well in the nursing state examination, Diana says.
“Our pass rates are above the national average. It’s not unusual for our students to have 100% pass rate.”
The institute has led the way in tightening the entry criteria for nursing, so only the best people go into the profession.
It has also just completely rewritten the nursing curriculum and is leading New Zealand in this area.
As well as studying on campus, the trainee nurses learn at the clinical skills laboratory at Taranaki Base Hospital, which is a co-funded venture between WITT and the Taranaki District Health Board.
“It’s very well-equipped for medical surgical nurses and it complements our own clinical skills in the laboratory. Students have the benefit of both,” Diana says.
She believes the nursing profession is in good heart and nurses, already sought after, will become even more important in providing health care.
“As society becomes an aging society and people live with chronic illnesses longer, I think nurses will become more involved in supporting them with their health care. That will lead to an increase in expanded roles, such as nurse practitioners.”
Already WITT nursing graduates are being snapped up by employers. “They are in high demand and they often have to choose between jobs.”
Pat says that once a student has a nursing degree, they don’t necessarily have to work in a hospital.
They could go into industry, the community, or into other areas of the profession, including mental health, care of the elderly and education.