PROFESSIONAL NURSE: SPECIALTY [PN-B1] GRADE 1–2 SESSIONAL APPOINTMENTS: MAXIMUM OF 20 SESSIONS PER WEEK PER PN (1 SESSION = 1 HOUR)

These sessional nursing posts offer specialist professional nurses an opportunity to work within the Limpopo Department of Health’s hospital system on a flexible hourly-session basis. Appointments are available at designated hospitals across the Capricorn, Mopani, Sekhukhune, Vhembe and Waterberg districts, including Pietersburg, Mankweng, Letaba, St Ritas, Philadelphia, Tshilidzini and Mokopane hospitals. Each sessional professional nurse may work up to twenty one-hour sessions per week, and the positions are graded as Professional Nurse Specialty Grade 1 or Grade 2 under the OSD. Successful candidates will form part of a sessional database, with remuneration set according to the approved DPSA sessional rates and based on appropriate, recognisable experience after SANC registration.

The advertised specialties include operating theatre nursing, adult critical care, child nursing, child critical care, trauma nursing, advanced midwifery and neonatal nursing science, ophthalmology, orthopaedics and renal nursing. These are clinical posts requiring a high level of specialty knowledge and the ability to work within a multidisciplinary team. Applicants must hold a basic R425 qualification — a diploma or degree in nursing or an equivalent qualification that allows registration with the South African Nursing Council — as well as a post-basic qualification in the relevant specialty, accredited by SANC and of at least one year duration, except in the case of neonatal ICU nursing. Current SANC registration as a professional nurse in the appropriate specialty is also essential.

For entry at Grade 1, candidates need at least four years of appropriate, recognisable experience in nursing after registration as a professional nurse with SANC in general nursing. For Grade 2, the requirement increases to fourteen years of appropriate, recognisable experience in nursing after registration with SANC in general nursing, of which ten years must be in the relevant specialty after obtaining the post-basic qualification. Appointees must be willing to work shifts, flexi hours, weekends, public holidays and overtime when required. They should also possess sound knowledge and skills in nursing care processes and procedures within their specialty, good communication and report-writing ability, facilitation, liaison, networking and problem-solving skills, information management skills, and computer literacy.

The key performance areas include providing direction and supervision for the implementation of the nursing care plan and quality patient care; practising nursing and healthcare in accordance with standards, quality indicators, legislation and regulations relevant to nursing and healthcare; working collaboratively within a multidisciplinary clinical team; and utilising human, material and physical resources efficiently and effectively. These duties reflect the broader professional accountability of specialist nurses in a public-sector hospital environment, where patient safety, clinical governance and teamwork are central. Special conditions of the appointment relate to the sessional nature of the work, the need for flexibility around working hours, and the requirement to be registered with the SANC in the appropriate specialty. As part of the sessional database, candidates should be ready to be called upon as service needs arise.