Shortland Street teams up with Ministry of Health and Te Whatu Ora to recruit a new generation of nurses

Shortland Street, the Ministry of Health, and Te Whatu Ora have integrated an innovative recruitment campaign to get Kiwis to consider nursing as a career, directly into the storyline of the iconic television series.

Last week, viewers saw Shortland Street Hospital be selected to take part in a nationwide TV campaign. The ad filmed as part of the storyline will play out within the show, a first in the show’s 30-year history.

The new campaign from the Ministry of Health, Te Whatu Ora, and TVNZ’s Blacksand Partnerships team, alongside agencies Curative and Together, is underpinned by the goal of inspiring a new generation of nurses, demonstrating how nursing can be a great career option for Kiwis from all kinds of backgrounds.

TVNZ’s Commercial Director Jodi O’Donnell says: “From developing the original idea for the campaign to bringing it to life, this piece of work has been a truly unique and creative integration for our Blacksand Partnerships team. We’re really excited to see it roll out in-show over the next week.

“Working in partnership with the Ministry of Health, Te Whatu Ora, Curative and Together on this initiative has been fantastic, and we’re grateful they’ve entrusted us to deliver such an important campaign in a completely new way – recruiting real nurses from inside the walls of Shortland Street.”

The in-show integration sets in motion a wider campaign, highlighting the different and rewarding forms a career in nursing can take.

Of the partnership with Shortland Street, the Ministry of Health’s Chief Nursing Officer, Lorraine Hetaraka says: “It’s been really exciting to work in partnership with Shortland Street for this campaign. It’s been clear that our level of passion for this cause has been matched by the writers and cast of the show, and they’ve been fantastic to work with.”

The storyline continues throughout Shortland Street episodes this week, while the wider campaign, alongside Curative’s broader ‘Real Nurses’ campaign, will continue to roll out across TV, digital and social channels in the weeks that follow.