Nursing Entry to Practice Programme (NetP)

Introducing This Page

Welcome to the West Coast District Health Board (West Coast DHB) Nurse Entry to Practice (NetP) Programme.

A great first introduction to this programme is provided on our downloadable NetP Factsheet [PDF document, size: 481 KB] - (This is a large document, and with some displays gets shrunk to very small size. Therefore please ensure that this factsheet is viewed at a minimum zoom-level of 50%.)

• NetP Factsheet PDF document, size: 481 KB

The NetP programme is designed to assist the graduate nurse to become an active contributing member of the interdisciplinary team and to develop the clinical skills required for independent nursing practice within a rural environment.

• NetP Handbook PDF document, 558 KB

Some of the information presented below has been taken out of the NETP handbook. Please feel free to download the comprehensive document to find out more about this exciting programme.

About the Programme

NETP builds upon the graduate nurse's undergraduate education with the expectation that he/she will take responsibility for his/her own learning and ongoing development utilising the resource people and reference material available.

This new graduate programme is supported by the preceptors, Clinical Charge Nurses (CCN), Nurse Consultant (NC), Clinical Nurse Specialists (CNS), Clinical Nurse Educators (CNE) and other nursing colleagues who will assist the graduate nurse to progress through the programme. The Director of Nursing and Midwifery (DONM) is the sponsor of the programme.  A Graduate Nurse Advisory Committee provides professional oversight and support for the programme.

Aim of the NetP

The aim of the NetP is to provide a safe and supportive environment in which the graduate nurse is effectively socialised into the role of the competent registered nurse (RN). The nurses on this programme will be working within a rural context.  Graduate nurses are involved in a variety of learning experiences, which enhance the application of theory to practice and further develop confidence and effectiveness in nursing practice, independence in clinical reasoning / decision making and acceptance of responsibility as a RN. The programme meets Clinical Training Agency (CTA) programme specifications.

Programme Objectives

During the first year of clinical practice the graduate nurse will further develop knowledge, skills and experience to:

• Act professionally within the rural practice context to provide for the health and wellbeing of  rural people
• Incorporate the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi /Treaty of Waitangi and cultural safety into their nursing practice
• Complete the requirements of the NetP by the end of the programme
• Continue to meet the Nursing Council of New Zealand competencies for the Registered Nurse scope of practice
• Practice in a manner that aligns with the distinctively  rural competencies
• Develop sound clinical decision making skills to advance practice
• Apply nursing knowledge appropriately in their practice
• Attain competent RN level on the Canterbury and West Coast DHB Professional Development and Recognition Programme
• Meet the objectives outlined in the WCDHB Staff Nurse position description

In achieving these objectives, the new graduate nurse will be able to:

• Effectively assess, plan, implement, evaluate and document nursing care in accordance with client needs, nursing knowledge, available evidence and professional standards
• Be accountable for their standard of professional practice and for the utilization of the policies, procedures and standards of the WCDHB
• Build effective relationships with the community, clients/families/whanau, intra and inter-professional teams
• Practise safely, confidently and competently as a RN

Nursing Practice

Expectations at the end of the first year of Nursing Practice

At the end of their first year of nursing practice the graduate nurse is expected to achieve competent level on the Canterbury and West Coast DHBs Professional Development Recognition Programme (PDRP).

Why Rural Nursing Practice?

The inclusion of rural nursing practice into the 2008 programme represents an intention to offer a programme of study that better supports the needs of the West Coast DHB client population. The rural component was offered for the first time in 2007 as a pilot and was evaluated throughout the year, by the graduate nurses, Graduate Nurse Advisory Committee and staff of the West Coast District Health Board for its applicability and relevance for new graduate entry to rural practice.

The rural focus is built on the foundation research undertaken in New Zealand in the early 2000's and will include the Distinctive Rural Competencies (Jones & Ross, 2003) as well as the Orientation to Rural Practice Tool (Maw, Echkoff & London, 2002). The Distinctive Rural Competencies comprise four main themes with a number of corresponding sub-themes. The four main themes are related to isolation and distance, availability of back up; management of the professional and personal self in a smaller community; nurse/patient relationships; and independence and interdependence with other health professionals. These main themes will guide the learning for the new nurse graduate in their medical and peri-operative practice placements.

At the completion of the NetP

At the completion of the NetP the nurse will meet the Nursing Council of New Zealand (NCNZ) Registered Nurse (RN) (NCNZ, 2005) competencies and have experienced rural nursing practice and the complexity of that practice, both for the nurse and patient/family/whanau.  Twenty competencies for the RN scope of practice are described by the NCNZ under four domains of practice: professional responsibility; management of health care; interpersonal relationships; inter-professional health care and quality improvement.

Learning

The learning takes place, through five main avenues.

1. Orientation to West Coast DHB
2. Orientation to rural nursing practice and the context of this practice
3. Introduction to the outcomes for the new nurse graduate programme and the setting up of mentorship with clinical placement preceptors
4. Introduction to the programmes learning objectives
5. How all of these avenues link together to offer the new nurse graduate an effective programme of learning that includes a rural focus

The new graduate programme will assist the nurses in their collective and independent learning experiences. A number of questions will be posed to stimulate learning and a list of recommended readings and associated web links will be included. The study process will complement the learning aims related to the clinical practice placements.

NetP's Philosophy

The programme is based on the philosophy that the geographical, social and economic context in which people live are to be considered and understood when providing health services.

This philosophy guides the content of this programme of study, and therefore the graduates will undertake (with guidance and facilitation) a community profile and assessment of the health related issues concerning the population groups.

It is from undertaking such a project (as a group) that graduates will come into contact with the people and data that will assist them to develop an in-depth understanding of the services and health issues that relate to the people of their community. As the graduates work as a group on this project there will be an opportunity to team-build while critically evaluating their individual and collective attributes.

Graduates will each receive informal and formal feedback from the facilitator to assist with their learning. 

Established Learning Models

Innovative learning models will be established to promote the programme objectives in both the medical and peri-operative practice placements.

These models will include follow-through of patients.

In the peri-operative environment the graduate nurse will follow a patient from initial diagnosis to hospitalisation, management of procedures and the nursing care, through to rehabilitation and discharge.

In the medical placement the graduate nurse will follow a patient with a chronic illness through their ongoing involvement with the health services and develop a greater understanding of the implications of such an experience for patients and their family/whanau.

During, and at the completion of, each clinical practice placement the new graduate's progress will be assessed.

A full evaluation will occur at the end of the programme considering progressive evaluations and satisfactory achievement of course outcome requirements.

Contents of the NetP Handbook

Download the 2010 Handbook

• NetP Handbook PDF document, 479 KB

Download the 2010 Handbook

• NetP Handbook PDF document, 479 KB

Download the NetP document

• NetP Handbook (2010 Edition)
  PDF document, 479 KB

Introducing the New NetP Expansion Programme

2009 saw the addition of the NETP Expansion Programme.  This programme is funded by the Clinical Training Agency (CTA) and was implemented by the West Coast District Health Board to expand the existing programme into the primary and non-DHB sector.  It recognises the benefit and value of providing a supportive introductory programme for newly graduated Registered Nurses into our community based health care environment.

The NetP expansion programme is specifically for those organisations that are funded to provide clinical services via Ministry of Health or DHB contracts.  Examples of these providers are:

• Primary Health Organisations (PHO)
• Aged residential care providers
• Iwi/Maori health providers
• Non Government Organisations (NGO)

With a key aim of the NetP expansion programme being the retention of new graduate nurses, it is hoped that by supporting those with a specific interest in primary, community and residential care into this programme, the West Coast District Health Board will continue to actively facilitate the recruitment and retention of a comprehensive nursing workforce.