The programme commences on Monday 16 February 2026 at the Otago Polytechnic Dunedin Campus. The exact time and location for your first day will be sent to you closer to your start date.

Please do not book any airfares/holidays without confirming your intention with the Programme Leader first. ākonga are not permitted to sit examinations outside the scheduled times unless there are exceptional circumstances (holidays do not meet this criteria). 

Please note your first week (commencing 16 February 2026) has a different timetable to your individual class timetable.

Your first week will be scheduled from 0900-1600 hours Monday to Friday. The timetable for week one will be emailed to you as soon as it is available.

Part time employment /childcare arrangements and ensuring you have access to transport to attend your classes and clinical placements need to be considered in advance of commencement of your programme.

*Having a first aid certificate is a condition of your enrolment.

You will not be enrolled until your comprehensive level 2 first aid certificate has been booked and a screenshot uploaded to your application portal.

Part of the enrolment criteria for the New Zealand Diploma in Enrolled Nursing is a comprehensive level 2 (unit standards 6400, 6401 and 6402) first aid certificate valid until at least July 2026. There is no requirement for you to renew your first aid certificate once you commence the NZ Diploma in Enrolled Nursing programme as your status as an Enrolled Nurse student will supersede this.

Once you have booked your first aid course, please upload a copy of the booking to your application portal. We cannot enrol you into the New Zealand Diploma in Enrolled Nursing programme until we receive either your booking confirmation or certificate.

*We cannot enrol you into the NZ Diploma in Enrolled Nursing until this section is completed and uploaded to your application portal.

Under the Children's Act 2014 all individuals that engage as children’s workers must be appropriately safety checked before they commence the programme. All nursing ākonga are required to consent to a criminal history check as part of the safety checking, this is carried out via the New Zealand Police vetting service.

You should already have a copy of the vetting consent form (with your letter of offer). The form can also be found here. Please complete and upload the form (pages 3 and 4) in your application portal along with two verified forms of identification. 

In order to confirm your identity for police vetting, two forms of ID must be sighted, one primary and one secondary, one of which must be photographic.

Primary ID Includes:

• Passport (NZ or Overseas)
• NZ Firearms Licence
• NZ Full Birth Certificate 
• NZ Citizenship Certificate
• NZ Refugee Travel Document
• NZ Emergency Travel Document
• NZ Certificate of Identity

Secondary ID Includes:

• NZ Driver Licence
• 18+ Card
• NZ Full Birth Certificate 
• Community Services Card
• SuperGold Card
• NZ Employee Photo Identification Card
• NZ Student Photo Identification Card
• Inland Revenue Number
• NZ Issued Utility Bill (Issued no more than six months earlier)
• NZ Teachers Registration Certificate
• NZ Electoral Roll Record
• International Driving Permit
• Steps to Freedom Form

You can bring your identification to Otago Polytechnic customer services and they can sight the IDs for you. Alternatively, you can use an identity referee to verify the identification and email a digital copy to us.

An identity referee must:

• Be a person of standing in the community (e.g registered professional, religious, community leader or police employee)
• Be over 16 years of age
• Not be related or a partner/spouse
• Not be a co-resident of the applicant

To verify an applicant’s identity, the identity referee must:

• Sight the original versions of each identity document
• Compare the photographic image with the applicant to confirm they are the same person
• Sign and date a copy of each document to verify that the documents produced by the applicant relate to that person
• Provide his or her name and contact details.

Further information to assist you with completing the form can be found here. You must complete this process to enable your enrolment into the NZ Diploma Enrolled Nursing programme. 

Your first clinical placement will take place in the greater Dunedin area. Subsequent clinical placements may be in the greater Otago area such as North, South or central Otago or Timaru. It is your responsibility to ensure you have access to transport to and from your clinical placement, public transport may not be available to match your rostered duty.

Please be aware that the cost of travel and accommodation for all placements are the responsibility of the ākonga. You will receive advance notification of when these will occur so that you can make necessary work/childcare/travel arrangements.

During your programme you will be required to be available for rostered duties/clinical placements over seven days of the week (including public holidays) between the hours of 0700-1530hrs and 1430-2300hrs. This may have implications for ākonga with dependants. It is your responsibility to make alternative arrangements for your dependants, so you are available for all shifts.

The New Zealand Diploma in Enrolled Nursing Programme may recognise prior learning from other New Zealand Education Institutions.

Recognition of Prior Learning Applications will be considered by Course Coordinators until Friday 13 March 2026. If you are interested in applying for recognition of prior learning, please see the Recognition of Prior Learning policy. When you apply for recognition of prior learning, please email nursing@op.ac.nz with:

1. Completed application form
2. Certified academic transcript 
3. Course Outlines

If you are unsure if you are eligible for recognition of prior learning, please contact nursing@op.ac.nz with your prior academic information and someone will contact you.

There may be a non-refundable recognition of prior learning application fee. For further information please see the Recognition of Prior Learning policy on the Otago Polytechnic website. We will contact you if your application will incur a fee.

All recognition of prior learning applications must be submitted by 13 March 2026.

To manage the risk posed by vaccine preventable diseases ākonga are required to provide proof of vaccinations and serological evidence of immunity as outlined on the table below.

Failure to provide this evidence means you will not be able to attend your clinical learning experience which could affect your progress through the programme.  

Please follow these steps: 

1. Vaccination Records: Please phone your doctor's office and ask them to email you a copy of your current vaccination records and your childhood vaccination records. Once you have received the above documentation from your doctor, please forward these to studenthealth@op.ac.nz with the subject line: Vaccination Status Nursing 2026 (We need this evidence to gain a full picture of your immunity, and it will enable Student Health to provide specific advice if you are not immune to any diseases). 

2.  Book your Test: Book your blood tests through Awanui Labs https://bookings.sclabs.co.nz/

3.  Make your Payment: A blood test form will be emailed to you once you have paid for your blood test 

4.  Go to the Laboratory: Take your blood test form to your local Awanui Labs laboratory collection centre: Awanui Labs will send your blood test results directly to studenthealth@op.ac.nz

Please note: If you do not live near one of the above areas: 

You can complete the blood test at a Laboratory Collection centre in your area. Alternatively, you may choose to have your tests completed during Orientation week when you are in Dunedin.   

If you are not immune: 

• You will be contacted by the nurse at Student Health
• You will be provided with advice by the nurse at Student Health regarding vaccinations 
• You are required to pay for any additional vaccinations (if required)  

Vaccine Preventable Disease Requirements:

Ākonga are required to purchase the following textbook.  It is an expectation that textbooks are purchased in advance of the commencement of classes so that you can participate fully in all learning activities. We recommend that you purchase your textbook new so that you have the latest edition.

Koutoukidis, G., Hughson, J., & Stainton, K. 2020. Tabbner’s Nursing Care: Theory and Practice (8th ed). Published by Elsevier.

This textbook is available from the University Book Shop.

Ākonga require at least one full uniform of scrub top (green for Enrolled Nursing), black trousers and black leather or synthetic closed toe shoes (fabric shoes are not permitted). We recommend you purchase two scrub tops. You are required to wear your uniform for your first clinical lab in the second week of your programme so it is recommended you purchase it as soon as possible.

Uniform Order Form

Purchase Your Uniform Here

Guidelines For Wearing Your Uniform

Frequently asked questions

Can I try the uniform on?

Yes! We will have samples at the School of Nursing from mid-January, please come to level 2 of H block during our business hours to try one on. We will have the samples until the end of January.

Do I have to order online?

Yes, our supplier only accepts orders via the online portal (details in the above link)

Can you ensure the logo is on the uniform?

Of course! All uniforms ordered from our supplier come standard with the Otago Polytechnic logo.

Can I pick up my uniform?

Unfortunately you are only able to receive your uniform by courier, collection is not available. 

Challenge Marketing have a live chat on their website and are happy to answer any questions you may have.

Ākonga require the following equipment for practice purposes:

• Adult Sphygmomanometer
• Stethoscope
• Neuro Torch

These can be purchased as a pack or individually from our supplier, Pharmaco (NZ) Ltd, you can pre-purchase on their website. All items come with a lifetime guarantee.

Purchase your equipment here

Don't forget to use the discount code NURSING24 when you are checking out.

Ākonga are expected to have:

•  Computer, tablet or laptop with a reliable broadband connection
• Mid price headset with a microphone to engage in online learning that is compatible with MS Teams

Note 

• MS Office is not supported on Chromebooks so users will have to use the web version of the Office Suite
• Macbooks/IOS Devices need to have school Microsoft accounts removed to facilitate the Otago Polytechnic Microsoft account being added so the user can license their Office Suite

It is an expectation that ākonga are familiar with Microsoft applications such as Word, Powerpoint and Excel. The Bachelor of Nursing has online components so learners will require access to a computer with broadband connection. All ākonga will be able to download Office 365 for free, you will not need to purchase Microsoft Office.

 The recommended ākonga laptop operating systems for the 2023/2024 Academic Year:

 For Windows computers:

 Minimum - Windows 11

Recommended – Windows 11 (with the latest Feature Update applied, or within 1 version of the latest Feature Update) Your PC will continue to work, but support for Windows 10 is discontinued. After 14 October 2025, your Windows 10 PC will no longer receive security updates 

 For Apple computers:

 Minimum – Mac OS 15 or higher (this will be the minimum supported level that allows OP ākonga to install the current Office 365 software) MacOS 26 due late 2025

 Ākonga should be aware that Apple only provide support for OS versions that are 3 versions below the current supported version

 Otago Polytechnic Dunedin campus has free wireless internet access for ākonga laptops, tablets and phones.

We strongly recommend that you reserve the Course Related Cost Allowance that New Zealand resident ākonga will receive for the purchase of your textbooks, uniform, equipment, immunity status testing and associated travel costs for attending clinical placements during 2026.

• Accept your offer into the programme through your student portal 
• Upload a copy of your first aid certificate or booking confirmation to your student portal
• Complete pages 3 & 4 on police vetting form & upload with 2 forms of verified ID to your student portal
• Complete your RPL (recognition of prior learning) if you think you are eligible 
• Book & complete your blood test through Awaunui Labs
• Email your current vaccination records through to studenthealth@op.ac.nz
• Email your childhoood vaccination records through to studenthealth@op.ac.nz 
• Order textbooks (listed above)
• Purchase uniform (2 x scrub tops, black pants, black leather or synthetic closed toe shoes)
• Purchase clinical equipment (adult sphygmomanometer, stethoscope, neuro torch)
• Ensure you have correct IT equipment

*We strongly recommend that you reserve the Course Related Cost Allowance that New Zealand resident students will receive for the purchase of your textbooks, uniform, equipment, immunity status testing and associated travel costs for attending clinical placements during 2026.