The Health NZ - Te Whatu Ora Southern Nursing Excellence Awards were held in celebration of International Nurses Day, which is marked around the world on 12 May on the anniversary of Florence Nightingale's birth.

This year's theme was "Our Nurses. Our Future".  Nurses work in a wide range of setting across the Southern health system, and the Dunedin event was aimed at celebrating and formally recognising nursing excellence in the local sector.

Congratulations to:

• Jo Speirs (Senior Lecturer).  Award: Nursing Research
• Hannah Campbell (Lecturer).  Award: Rising Star
• Jo Bradley (Senior Lecturer).  Award: Patient Safety
• Glosan Sadiasa-Manzhula (Senior Lecturer and Programme Leader). Award: Nursing Education
• Amy Simons (Principal Lecturer & Programme Leader).  Award: Nursing Leadership
• Mereana Rapata-Hanning (Principal Lecturer, Kaitiaki Te Ao Māori).  Award: Te Kete a Matariki Māori Nursing
  

Meanwhile strong figures from the School of Nursing's 2024 Destination Survey reflect the continued strength and quality of Otago Polytechnic's Bachelor of Nursing programme.

• 120 ākonga sat the state final examination for the Nursing Council of NZ, with an industry-leading 100% pass rate
  
  
• 79% of respondents have now found jobs as Registered Nurses, including...
• 55 students employed as nurses with Health NZ/Te Whatu Ora Southern
• 17 students employed as nurses with Health NZ/Te Whatu Ora (other NZ locations)
• 19 students working as nurses with various NGOs (non-government organisations, private or community, including Mercy Hospital and Otago Community Hospice.)
• 4 students working as nurses in Australia