1. Who is eligible to join the College of Nurses?
There are five ways for members to join:
- i. Members (all registered nurses)
- iii. Fellows (registered nurses with five years practice experience who are able to demonstrate an exceptional contribution to nursing)
2. Is it simple to join the College?
Yes. The procedure for joining the College is very simple. Just send:
- A completed membership form
- A one off application fee of $20
- The subscription can be paid as an annual amount or by monthly automatic payments.
3. What will I gain by joining the College?
You will be part of an active, vibrant, professional organisation and be kept up to date with professional issues. The benefits of the College are focused on nursing in general and the service nursing provides to the public, as well as direct personal benefits:
- $1 million indemnity insurance per year, underwritten by NZI Insurance, with a maximum of $1 million per claim.
- Indemnity Insurance if your practice is in complementary therapy.
- A quality College newsletter "Te Puawai" published three times per year.
- An automatic subscription to the refereed journal "Nursing Praxis in New Zealand" which is published three times per year.
- Receipt of "Nursing Review" monthly as part of your subscription.
- A forum for professional links with other nurses who are committed to high professional standards.
- Access to research and study grants through scholarships.
- Local networking through Regional Branches.
- Annual conference held at different places in N.Z.
4. What if I belong to another professional organisation?
Great! The spirit of the College is about collegiality, sharing and communication. Members are free to join other organisations, and can hold joint professional organisational appointments. Many members of the College do, in fact, belong to more than one professional organisation.
5. Do I also need to belong to another nursing organisation to be a part of an employment contract?
The College is not a union. All employers are required to offer no less than the terms of any collective contract to relevant employees. This ensures that union membership is not compulsory in New Zealand. If you have any questions on this please feel free to contact the college office.
6. What does the College of Nurses do?
- Promotes the professional nursing issues for improved practice and health outcomes. It has done this by contributing to many national committees, initiating the recent Ministerial Taskforce on Nursing, hosting workshops to develop the concept of the Nurse Practitioner (TM) and leading the development of primary health care nursing.
- Provides forums for nursing updates at a local level through a nationwide network of Regional Branches which are organised by local Co-ordinators.
- Produces "Te Puawai", a newsletter with articles of clinical and professional interest.
- Provides well researched and carefully considered submissions on all health sector concerns.
- Supports nursing research with grants and scholarships.
7. Isn't the College elitist? Or only for educators?
The College is committed to high professional standards. The College welcomes all nurses, from all areas of the profession, and its membership includes many clinicians, as well as educators and nurses from other fields.
8. Does the College have a focus for my specialty?
Rather than have narrowly defined sections, the College is developing networks within its membership. There is now a child health network, a primary health care network, an aged care network and we are working on developing others. Join us and help develop your area of practice interest.
9. What will it cost me?
Members $393.75 ($32.80 per month)
Fellows $450 ($37.50 per month)
We also have discounted rates available for low income Nurses.
Member working Part Time (under 20 hrs per week) $225.00 (18.75 per month)
Retired Member $225.00 ($18.75 per month)
Nurses in full time study and School nurses also qualify for a discounted rate, we are more than happy to discuss your requirements, please contact the College office on (06)358 6000
$20 joining application fee -
This is to covers the additional administration data entry requirements and register checks required when joining up a new member. This includes not only our office database and accounting system set up but also setting up on the College web discussion groups and expertise database. All new member applications are also copied and checked by the College Censors. The College is a not for profit organisation (and a registered charity) our board and members work together toward the College vision of 100% access and Zero Disparities in health care for all New Zealanders.
Our membership fees are appropriate to cover the running costs and services to our members. We do offer appropriate discounts for part time and retired members as well as RN’s in full time study.
All fees include GST. Member fees can be paid by monthly automatic payments from a bank account.
The next step
If you believe in excellence of practice, and wish to be informed and involved in professional nursing issues, then the College of Nurses is for you. Download your application form today.
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