Health

Gain the skills and expertise to make a difference to the lives of others as a nurse, midwife or radiographer.

At Ara, we’ll challenge you to go beyond traditional care or case management to focus on creating a supportive environment for health and wellbeing. You'll learn how to promote healthy living and to care for the individual. You'll also learn how to become independent and confident decision-makers, with a focus on motivation, tolerance and acceptance of different cultures and beliefs.

You will be taught by a dedicated team of qualified and experienced professionals, working with people and make a difference in their lives.

Our facilities are located at the Manawa Campus in Christchurch.

Subjects we teach

We cover a broad range of health and social services subjects from traditional nursing qualifications, through midwifery, medical imaging to osteopathy.

Facilities and resources

We are at the forefront of health training and is the largest provider of nursing education in the South Island. We work in collaboration with health care agencies in Canterbury and the West Coast.

We work closely to provide positive learning opportunities for students when on placement with health and social service agencies including Canterbury District Health Board, South Canterbury District Health Board, West Coast District Health Board, Nurse Maude, private hospitals and community agencies.

We have created purpose-built facilities to emulate real world conditions and have other resources including:

Manawa Simulation Centre
Mock apartment to mirror home visit conditions
Programmable manikins
Equipment used by nurses in everyday clinical settings

Industry and community

Nursing, and health are some of the most important vocations in the health and social services sector, and at Ara Institute of Canterbury, we believe it is vital to support our community with effective and relevant social services programmes.

Employers in the public and private sector respect our qualifications, knowing you have had both professional training on campus and real experience in the workplace. Graduates from these programmes succeed across a range of industry and community-based organisations. An Ara Institute of Canterbury qualification gives employers a clear signal that you have the skills and practical experience to contribute to the workplace from day one.

Workforce restrictions for children's workforce

Workforce restrictions apply for those employed in sectors working with children. See the full workforce restrictions.

Disability Statement

If you think you may require modifications in order to undertake the practical components of a particular course of study, we encourage you to discuss these with us so we can give them careful consideration.

As it may take time to consider and implement any modifications, please contact disability@ara.ac.nz as early as possible prior to the course starting. We’ll also need to check that there’s no risk of harm to you or anyone else before making a final decision.

Throughout this process we’ll communicate with you in a clear and timely manner.