New Southern Cross scholarships will fund 17 AUT nursing students on clinical placements

From 2025, Southern Cross Health Trust will offer five scholarships for each year of AUT’s three-year bachelor of health science (nursing) for students who face barriers, hardship or come from under-represented communities.

“That could be Māori, Pacific, could be rainbow, could be young solo mums — the idea of the scholarships is to help students who would otherwise find it quite difficult to complete their education,” AUT head of nursing Jan Dewar told Kaitiaki.

‘Half of our students are first in family – no one in their family has been to university before, so it’s pretty massive,’

Another two scholarships are available for its post-graduate masters of nursing science degree —  a total of 17 annual scholarships worth $300,000.

Nursing heads Dewar and Rachel Macdiarmid — who co-designed the scholarships after talking to students — said clinical placements were a real pressure point, particularly the lengthier ones in final year.

“Half of our students are first in family – no one in their family has been to university before, so it’s pretty massive,” Dewar said.

“We have a fairly high number of Māori and Pacific students as well. They’re not all just school leavers, some are juggling children or parents or everything supporting their families, so anything we can do to make that a bit easier.”

Dewar said she had often seen students drop out to try and save to complete their studies within the five year deadline set by the Nursing Council.

‘They make all sorts of sacrifices – I talked to one the other day who has moved back in with her parents just so she can get through this last bit of her degree.’

The scholarships will give students a $500 weekly stipend, $1000 towards fees, priority placements at Southern Cross hospitals, opportunities for part-time work and a Southern Cross nurse “buddy” from a similar background.

All nursing students must complete 1100 hours of clinical placement over their three- year degree — a whopping 360-hour continuous chunk in their last year just before they sat the final exam.

“They make all sorts of sacrifices – I talked to one the other day who has moved back in with her parents just so she can get through this last bit of her degree.”

All first-year nursing students will also get $300 from the trust for uniforms and shoes. This was also a “big commitment” from Southern Cross, with around 400 nursing students enrolling at AUT each year, Dewar said.

Southern Cross placements ‘optional’

Scholarship recipients would also have mentoring with a Southern Cross “buddy” nurse, part-time work and priority clinical placements with Southern Cross — but they were not obligatory, Dewar said.

“It’s an opportunity for them to have some of their placements at Southern Cross, but it definitely wouldn’t be all, and an opportunity to work there at the end if they so choose.”

Southern Cross Healthcare chief nursing officer Monica Goldwater said the organisation was committed to supporting and growing the nursing workforce.

“Nurses play a crucial role in the health-care system, but they are in short supply and high demand across the sector. By investing in the future of nursing, we aim to contribute to growing the workforce and ensuring our communities have access to the highest quality care.”

Dewar hoped other organisations might see a similar opportunity to support New Zealand nursing students.

Research by NZNO’s student unit last year showed money was the number one pressure for nursing students, almost a third of whom drop out — with slightly higher rates for Māori and Pacific.

NZNO’s student nurse leaders recently called for support such as paid placements to help grow a Māori nursing workforce which has been sitting at seven per cent for more than a decade.

Apply for a 2025 Southern Cross-AUT nursing scholarship here.