New nurses farewelled in emotional ceremony

NorthTec’s latest cohort of nursing students was farewelled yesterday, at the end of a difficult year when healthcare has been in the spotlight worldwide.

The students were welcomed to the whakawatea on Te Puna o Te Mātauranga marae by NorthTec Acting Chief Executive, Jon Smith, and senior nursing teacher, Linda Christian.

The emotional ceremony was filled with tears and laughter as well as kapa haka and waiata, as the students spoke to the assembled group of whānau, friends and NorthTec staff.

All paid tribute to those who had supported them throughout their studies – parents, spouses and partners, children, wider whānau, friends, and their NorthTec tutors, librarians, student support workers and classmates. The students spoke of their struggles and trials, but also their triumphs and joy at completing their studies of three years or more.

Linda Christian told them: “What a year! The Bachelor of Nursing course is hard, and the challenges thrown up this year have made it even harder. We are super aware of that - we’ve all been in it.

“This ‘village’ has raised another group of fabulous nurses. To make it here today is an achievement not to be underestimated and you all need to celebrate that.

“Nursing is a privilege and when nurses tell their stories - the crises they might manage or the very small significant moments that occur between nurse and patient - it reinforces why we do what we do. Simply it is the connections we have with our patients that keep us going in a profession that can be hard.

“The mahi is just beginning, guys, but it is worth it. Nurses are the backbone of the healthcare system….and the head….and the hands….and most certainly the heart. Look at what is happening worldwide – you know who is at the forefront of this. Take what you have learnt here with us and combine it with the wisdom you already had, to be the best nurse and person you can be.”

After receiving the results of their state nursing exams, the majority of the 32 students will now go into employment locally, before graduating formally at the annual NorthTec ceremony in March 2021.