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

This sessional appointment opportunity is aimed at experienced Professional Nurses who hold a recognised specialty qualification and wish to contribute to public hospital services on a flexible, hourly basis. The Limpopo Department of Health is establishing a professional nurses database for sessional work at designated hospitals in the Capricorn, Mopani, Sekhukhune, Vhembe and Waterberg districts. Appointed candidates will be placed at facilities such as Pietersburg, Mankweng, Letaba, St Ritas, Philadelphia, Tshilidzini and Mokopane hospitals, depending on the specialty and the hospital’s needs. Each professional nurse may work up to twenty sessions per week, with one session equal to one hour, and remuneration will be paid at the approved sessional rates in line with the nurse’s recognisable experience after registration with the South African Nursing Council.

The post is graded as Professional Nurse: Specialty, PN-B1, at either Grade 1 or Grade 2. Applicants must hold a minimum basic R425 qualification, namely a Diploma or Degree in Nursing or an equivalent qualification that permits registration with the South African Nursing Council as a Professional Nurse. In addition, a post-basic nursing qualification in one of the specialties listed is required, with the qualification being accredited by the SANC and having a minimum duration of one year, except for Neonatal ICU nursing. Current SANC registration in the relevant specialty is essential. For entry at Grade 1, a candidate must have at least four years of appropriate or recognisable nursing experience after registration in General Nursing. For Grade 2, at least fourteen years of such experience is required, including ten years specifically in the relevant specialty after obtaining the post-basic qualification. Candidates must be willing to work shifts, flexi-hours, weekends, public holidays and overtime when needed.

The specialties covered include Operational Theatre nursing, Critical Care Adult (ICU), Child Nursing (Paediatrics), Child Critical Care Nursing, Trauma, Advanced Midwifery and Neonatal Nursing Science, Ophthalmology, Orthopaedics and Renal nursing. Successful appointees will be responsible for providing direction and supervision in implementing the nursing care plan and delivering quality patient care in their specialty area. They will practise nursing and healthcare in line with professional standards, quality indicators, legislation and regulations, and will work collaboratively within a multidisciplinary clinical team. They must also utilise human, material and physical resources efficiently and effectively. Strong knowledge of nursing care processes and procedures in the relevant specialty is required, along with good communication, report writing, facilitation, liaison, networking, problem-solving and information management skills, as well as computer literacy.

The advertisement also includes a separate sessional stream for Professional Nurses with Midwifery at a wider group of hospitals across the same districts, indicating the department’s broader need for sessional nursing services. Applicants for the specialty posts should note that placement depends on the specific hospital and discipline, and that these are sessional appointments rather than permanent posts, intended to build a database from which hospitals can draw as service needs arise.