Nelson Marlborough DHB recently celebrated its first health care assistant graduation with 10 graduates from Blenheim’s Wairau Hospital completing the National Certificate in Core Competencies (Level 3).
Nurse educator Dee Emmet said the course was a great success and she was proud to have been a part of that success. The training recognises the important role of health care assistants in the inpatient team, and the Board is looking at making the course available to more assistants as well as developing further study opportunities.
Assessments cover such topics as: dementia, patients’ rights, advocacy, personal hygiene, moving patients, and supporting Maori cultural safety.
Graduates said the training gave them a boost in confidence, and a deeper awareness and understanding of their jobs. Wairau is the first hospital in the region to give health care assistants the opportunity to gain this nationally recognised qualification.
Graduates include: Andrew Demead, Andrew Endersby, Beverley Kenny, Christine Osborne, Clare Crosswell, Lynda Barnett, Marian Fraser, Stephanie Blackmore, Stephanie Elliott, Tracey Usher-Somers.