ONLINE COURSE A DRAWCARD FOR NEW NURSES —

Brittany Krammer and Cara Wells were among the first cohort of students to enrol in Ara Institute of Canterbury’s online Diploma in Enrolled Nursing programme.

The institute took the programme online in 2019, meaning that Nelson-based students like Brittany and Kara did not have to relocate to Christchurch to study. Instead, they did the majority of training, including six clinical placements, in Nelson with support from a locally-based tutor. They attended five short block courses in Christchurch. “I was working in a rest home, which I really enjoy, and it meant that I could do the course work around my paid shifts,” Cara says.

“I chose enrolled nursing training as the programme was only 18 months long. I didn’t want to spend three years as a full-time student doing the Bachelor of Nursing.”

Brittany initially completed a pre-nursing training certificate at Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology before enrolling with Ara.

“I think I would’ve found the Bachelor of Nursing course quite academically challenging, so the mix of online theory, practice and clinical placements for the diploma programme suited me,” Brittany says.