# Finding work in health care



## alicewoz (Apr 4, 2015)

Hi guys, I'm currently in a bit of a pickle. I've found that the more I think about it, the more I want to leave the Uk and I'm trying to decide between France and New Zealand (pretty random I know but there are reasons). I'm currently studying to become an operating department practitioner, called an anaesthetic assistant in NZ I think. I'm pretty sure this is on the list of skills required at the moment, but does anyone have any experience of getting a healthcare job, applying, how this affects your visa application, transferring qualifications and wages? Pretty much any info I can get in this area would be great. I would love to live in the south, preferably in a rural area, but is this unrealistic if I would be working in a hospital?


----------



## alicewoz (Apr 4, 2015)

Also I'm fairly new here so sorry if this has already been discussed!


----------



## sabey (Apr 29, 2012)

It's quite difficult to exactly match a ODP or ODA in NZ from the experience of my friend. They ended up utilising his wife's nursing qualification. Have a good look through the exact job qualifications on the Skilled LTSlist


----------



## escapedtonz (Apr 6, 2012)

alicewoz said:


> Hi guys, I'm currently in a bit of a pickle. I've found that the more I think about it, the more I want to leave the Uk and I'm trying to decide between France and New Zealand (pretty random I know but there are reasons). I'm currently studying to become an operating department practitioner, called an anaesthetic technician in NZ I think. I'm pretty sure this is on the list of skills required at the moment, but does anyone have any experience of getting a healthcare job, applying, how this affects your visa application, transferring qualifications and wages? Pretty much any info I can get in this area would be great. I would love to live in the south, preferably in a rural area, but is this unrealistic if I would be working in a hospital?


Hi and welcome,

Good choice  .....although I've spent a lot of time in France and love the place, but for me it was just the language barrier and lack of decent opportunities that made me look further afield. 
Anaesthetic technicians are classed as skilled here and they are on the ISSL only which is the Immediate Skill Shortage List meaning if you landed a job as one here and you were suitably eligible then you could receive an Essential Skills Job Search Visa for up to 5 years depending on how long the job offer was and you could well apply for a more permanent visa whilst here.
My wife is a nurse (was an intensive care sister) and didn't have any problems whatsoever getting a job in Wellington in a different area - practice nursing, but here in Tauranga she has struggled and still hasn't got a permanent post yet but hopefully that's only a couple of months away.
You really need to research places in the South Island where you would like to live and see which of these places has a hospital and unit that you could work on. You are pretty much narrowing down your possibilities though doing it that way. 
No matter where you live and work in the South Island you aren't far from being rural 
There's only around 1 Million people live in the South Island so the infrastructure isn't vast, meaning you never have miles to drive before you reach the city limits and the countryside. It's a playground for farming, rural living, extreme sports, mountains, lakes etc.

Have a look for jobs on Jobs on SEEK - New Zealand's no.1 Employment, Career and Recruitment site and Buy online and sell with NZ's #1 auction & classifieds site | Trade Me


----------

