Healthcare Assistant Tania Ashwell was thrilled to celebrate her first qualification in 10 years at a recent graduation event at Dunedin Hospital.
After six years at the hospital, with lots of experience dealing with complex patient needs, Tania was concerned that if her circumstances changed, she had nothing official to recognise her experience and competencies.
However, with support from Dunedin hospital and work-based training provider, Careerforce, Tania has now successfully completed her New Zealand Certificate in Health and Wellbeing (Level 3) Health Assistance.
Graduate Tania Ashwell receives a bouquet at a Dunedin Hospital celebration event in July 2024
Working in Orthopaedic Ward 3 at Dunedin Hospital, Tania says, “there is always something different.
“Elderly patients come in after a fall with a broken hip. When they come back from theatre, they are often very confused.”
Tania assists the nurses to keep the patients safe.
When hospital Healthcare Assistant Clinical Coordinator, Emily Borst, offered the Healthcare assistants the chance to complete the Level 3 programme, and explained what it entailed, Tania jumped at the chance.
“I wanted to do the programme, so that I would have a formal qualification for all the work that I’ve done at the hospital,” says Tania.
“It’s about being recognised. I can say ‘Hey I’ve done this, I’m confident in what I’m doing, and I have the qualification to prove it.’”
Emily says, “The programme reinforces what the healthcare assistants are already doing and is a great opportunity to build on existing knowledge that is evidence-based and meets the needs of patients in our care”.
Careerforce training programmes are completed through either paper-based learning or online via Careerforce’s e-learning platform. Initially starting with online learning, Tania switched to paper-based assessments, finding it easier to complete them by hand.
“I was overwhelmed when I first started,” Tania recalls. “I thought, ‘What have I got myself into?’ But as I completed the first couple of assessments, I realised, ‘This is just what I do every day. I just need to explain what I do at work.”
Tania is Māori, and particularly enjoyed learning about different cultures through her training. “I didn’t know a lot about the different cultures before I had done the papers. We have a lot of multicultural patients, and it’s important to understand their cultures, especially regarding their preferences for personal cares and food choices.
“I’ve been trying to get our other healthcare assistants to do it; I 100% recommend it. It provides the proof and evidence that they can do the work.”
Tania is considering her next steps, and is keen to continue her learning, possibly pursuing a Level 4 qualification or exploring enrolled nursing courses.
For more information about Careerforce’s Health and Wellbeing work-place based training programmes, contact Careerforce.