Training
Who can train
Clinicians who have assessment as part of their scope of practice may train to become an interRAI assessor. We only accept practising certificates from New Zealand professional bodies.
Examples of clinicians include nurses, physiotherapists, social workers, speech language therapists and occupational therapists.
Every clinician must have their manager's approval to train.
How to enrol
There is no charge for interRAI training.
Start the enrolment process now by completing a user access form.
This form is for requesting training and changing interRAI Assessment Software (iAS) access.
To complete the form, you'll need:
- Your contact details, including your personal email address
- Your workplace details
- Your manager's name, work phone number and work email address
- Registered health professionals: your registration or APC number
- Enrolled nurses: name and contact details of your clinical supervisor.
Make sure you have all the information you need before you begin. This is because you can't save the form until you complete it. After you submit the form to us, a copy of the data is emailed to you and your manager automatically.
Your manager must approve the form using the instructions in the email for your access request to be processed.
Training information by assessment type
| Time to complete: | four weeks |
| Virtual classroom time: | one day |
This assessment is a brief, screening assessment for people with less complex needs in the community. The course is delivered online with the help of your interRAI educator. It's a mix of educator-led and self-directed learning.
After you've completed the virtual classroom portion of the course, your interRAI educator will support you to complete real assessments that will count towards course completion.
We'll send you a confirmation email and reminders before the course starts.
| Time to complete: | six weeks |
| Virtual classroom time: | two days |
This comprehensive assessment is for people with complex needs living in the community. This includes private homes and supported living, such as retirement villages.
It is usually delivered in the community by assessors working with the local Needs Assessment Coordination Service (NASC), but may also be used in other settings.
This course is delivered online by an interRAI educator. After you've completed the virtual classroom portion of the course, your educator will support you to complete real assessments that will count towards course completion.
We'll send you a confirmation email and reminders before the course starts.
| Time to complete: | six weeks |
| Virtual classroom time: | two days |
The Community Health Assessment is a comprehensive, modular assessment for people living in the community. This includes private homes and supported living, such as retirement villages.
It is usually delivered in the community by assessors from health of older people or mental health services.
This course is delivered online by an interRAI educator and is a mixture of directed and self-directed learning. After you've completed the virtual classroom portion of the course, your interRAI educator will support you to complete real assessments that will count towards course completion.
We'll send you a confirmation email and reminders before the course starts.
| Time to complete: | six weeks |
| Virtual classroom time: | two days |
This assessment is a comprehensive assessment for people living in aged residential care.
The course is delivered online by an interRAI educator and is a mixture of directed and self-directed learning. After you've completed the virtual classroom portion of the course, your interRAI educator will support you to complete real assessments that will count towards course completion.
We'll send you a confirmation email and reminders before the course starts.
| Time to complete: | six weeks |
| Virtual classroom time: | two days |
This assessment is for people who have a terminal diagnosis. It is delivered by clinicians in hospice, community and aged residential care settings.
The course is delivered online by an interRAI educator and is a mixture of directed and self-directed learning. After you've completed the virtual classroom portion of the course, your interRAI educator will support you to complete real assessments that will count towards course completion.
We'll send you a confirmation email and reminders before the course starts.
| Time to complete: | four weeks |
| Virtual classroom time: | one and a half hours |
This assessment is for people who are being assessed during an inpatient hospital stay.
This course is delivered online by an interRAI educator and is a mixture of directed and self-directed learning. You will complete learning modules and attend a virtual classroom. Once this is done, your interRAI educator will support you to complete real assessments that will count towards course completion.
We'll send you a confirmation email and reminders before the course starts.
Preparing for your training
Once your enrolment is confirmed, you'll receive a welcome email with everything you need to know about your training. Check your spam or junk mail if you haven't received this.
There are some things you'll need to ensure training success. You may need to talk to your manager to arrange these.
A suitable computer
You can use a work computer or laptop to complete your training. It must have:
- Zoom installed
- a stable internet connection and browser - Chrome, Firefox or Edge
- a client-side certificate installed.
To check whether your computer has this, click here to go back to our homepage, then click on 'iAS (formerly Momentum) all regions' at the top right of the page. If you receive a ‘page not found’ message, contact your IT department or provider to ask for a CIVICA client-side certificate to be installed. If they need help, ask your IT department or provider to contact interRAI Services on 0800 10 80 44 option 1 for assistance.
If you are training with others from your organisation, each learner must have their own computer or laptop. You can bring a laptop from home to use for accessing Zoom and interRAI Learning and Development (iL&D), but not interRAI Assessment Software (iAS).
A suitable setup
A quiet, well-organised space for learning will help you succeed. If possible, avoid training at busy nurses' stations.
If you have access to a headset and dual monitors, you will find training easier.
Resources and support
For help logging in to iL&D, iAS and Zoom, watch our welcome video:
You should have copies of the relevant manuals onsite. If you can't find them, talk to your manager - they may need to order new ones.
You must be rostered off the floor to complete the virtual classroom portion of your training. Make sure you're logged in and ready to begin 15 minutes before training begins. If you have another staff member already trained, it's helpful to have them show you the software systems before your virtual classroom sessions.
Urgent training needs
We understand that staffing gaps can occur suddenly. We may be able to provide an emergency training placement to help cover these gaps. If you need to train an assessor urgently, please email interRAI@tas.health.nz.
Transition courses
We provide shorter courses for skilled assessors who are switching from one assessment type to another or have to use different assessment types in their role.
Email us at interRAI@tas.health.nz if you think you may qualify for transition training.
Training for Competency Assessment Programme (CAP) students
CAP programmes are for internationally qualified nurses, and nurses returning to practice after 5 or more years away. Nurses who are completing CAP programmes can train to become interRAI assessors while waiting to receive their annual practising certificates (APC) from the New Zealand Nursing Council.
During training and until the CAP student is allocated their APC number, they work under the direction of a supervising registered nurse who is interRAI-competent.
The supervising registered nurse takes overall responsibility for the assessment, and marks it complete in the software.
Training for enrolled nurses
Enrolled nurses can train to become interRAI assessors. They complete interRAI assessments under the supervision of a registered nurse.