One, who had applied for a new entry-to-practice (NETP) registered nurse role at Waikato Hospital last month after graduating, said she felt “heart-broken” after it was snatched away again.
NETP roles offer wraparound support for new graduates as they enter the workforce.
The graduate — who Kaitiaki agreed not to name to protect her job prospects — was offered a job on July 14. She accepted it and the next day emailed back several forms she had been asked to sign.
“To my surprise, on the same night, Health NZ Waikato’s recruitment team responded to my email detailing that they had a ‘technical glitch’ which sent the emails early.”
They told her they would confirm the role when it was finalised. But a week later, they emailed her to say the job offer was due to a “clerical error” and invalid, and they were not able to offer her the role after all.
‘We will be working through vacancies over the coming weeks and are committed to bringing on the additional graduates when we can.’
The new nurse said she felt “heartbroken and overwhelmed” by the news and did not know what to do now.
She had been told by ACE (advanced choice of employment), which matches new graduates to supported NETP and NESP (nursing-entry-to-specialist-practice) roles, that she must now stay waiting for a Waikato match and could not move into the general employment pool for jobs elsewhere.
Waikato had been her third choice, behind Waitaha and Christchurch.
Waikato nursing sources have told Kaitiaki that Waikato Hospital must ask permission “up the Te Whatu Ora chain” for any recruitment — even though it has identified at least 120 nursing vacancies, including many senior.
‘We’re sorry’
Te Whatu Ora has apologised for the mistake, saying it was “human error” likely confined to the Waikato region.
Its regional director Waikato, Chris Lowry, said he was sorry for the distress to nursing graduates and was “working on finding them placements”.
“We will be working through vacancies over the coming weeks and are committed to bringing on the additional graduates when we can.”
‘Unacceptable’
NZNO — Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa student co-leader Shannyn Bristowe said the error was confusing and “unacceptable”.
“Te Whatu Ora say that graduate nurses are a vital part of the health system but what we are experiencing doesn’t reflect that.”
NZNO chief executive Paul Goulter said he was concerned by the botch-up, which only added to the stress and uncertainty being faced by new graduates in the current climate.
“This will be a stressful time for them and errors like this only add to the uncertainty they will be feeling. It’s really important that Te Whatu Ora get their processes right, do not make errors like this, and move quickly to secure the futures of all graduate nurses.”
See also: Jobless nursing graduates feel heartbroken and abandoned