Chelsea - Registered Nurse from the U.S.A.

Hi there! My name is Chelsea and I am a Registered Nurse working at Nelson Hospital in the ICU on a fixed term, 1 year contract. I came to New Zealand in December 2019 from the United States (specifically Wisconsin). The process to get over here wasn't too bad. It took me 3 months to get my nursing registration and then maybe another 3 months to land a job/visa. To me, the hardest part was the registration process and specifically working with my College of Nursing and getting the course descriptions/syllabi sent to NZ, directly from the college. Apparently, the NZ Nursing Council is making the process easier than what it was though. The easiest part was landing a job. Kristin, my recruiter with ACCENT, was amazing at finding me a job in an area where I would thrive most. I was pretty picky in that I told her I wasn't interested in big cities, preferred the South Island and near the mountains. Kristen never stopped looking for the "perfect fit" job and put up with my constant e-mails bugging her lol. She was very good at following up and providing me with timeframes on when I should hear from her. If you are interested in working as a nurse in NZ but are overwhelmed by the process, do not let that stop you. I promise you that it is so worth it. ACCENT is an amazing resource and will help you every step of the way!