In his first year post-study, Tomas Woodford-Webb is thriving in his busy role as a registered nurse in Dunedin Hospital’s 4A General Surgical ward.

Tomas works eight-hour shifts on the ward as part of a nursing team, and provides nursing care to his own workload of patients.

“Basically, my role is to record my patients’ observations, then implement their care plan with the wider health care team for a successful health outcome,” he says.

“Day-to-day, I take a workload of up to five patients, and have to plan my shift according to their needs and conditions. Some may be awaiting theatre, some may be post-surgery and some may be experiencing complications.”

In order to care for his patients, Tomas takes their observations, manages their pain, monitors and administers medications and intravenous fluids and flushes dressings – to name just a few of his varied responsibilities.

“I am part of an excellent nursing team and we all work together to support one another,” he says. “My colleagues are always around if I need to ask questions or to lend a hand when I have a particularly difficult procedure to do.”

Nursing first appealed to Tomas through his experiences as a surf lifeguard.

“During my time as a lifeguard, I took first aid courses alongside nurses, paramedics and medical students,” he recalls. “This helped me realise that I wanted a job in health care.”

He chose Otago Polytechnic for several reasons, including “its reputation as one of the best Nursing schools in New Zealand”.

“When my cohort finished the degree, we all had to sit an exam to become registered nurses in New Zealand. Before this exam, the entirety of our year had been through interviews with one or multiple district health boards.”

As a result, Tomas knew he had a job in 4a General Surgical at Dunedin Hospital even before he passed the exam – and he is relishing the role.

“It is really satisfying to work with a large variety of patients and implementing the care which navigates each patient to the best possible outcome,” he says.

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