Health NZ Suggests Nursing Schools Look Elsewhere For Placements

Lauren
Crimp Political reporter

Health NZ is looking at
ways to boost placement spots for student nurses – but is
also suggesting nursing schools look elsewhere, such as
primary care and aged care facilities.

Tertiary
providers have been told to limit nursing enrolments to 2025
levels, because there are not enough student placement spots
available in hospitals.

Nurse educators have told RNZ
the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) directive makes no
sense as pressure on the workforce builds.

It
comes as concerns about hospital staffing grow louder and an
election-year battle between Labour and National rage on
over how
many nurses have been hired.

Health NZ national
chief nurse Nadine Gray said it was not aware of an
enrolment cap, but it had been working with the TEC and
educators to deal with low clinical placement
capacity.

“We work with 18 nursing schools in NZ, and
given the growing demand, tertiary providers have needed to
find placements out of town or region when local placement
capacity reaches maximum,” Gray said.

“This is where
education needs to make timely decisions about enrolments
and how best to work with industry to plan local placement
capacity, which will help also avoid costs to the
student.”

Gray said placement demand needed to be
considered alongside supervisor capacity.

“It is not
simply a question of finding space for another student. It
also depends on having experienced clinicians available to
provide appropriate supervision and support as well as the
coaching and academic support provided by the nursing
schools.”

She said Health NZ was working with the
sector, exploring ways to boost placement
capacity.

They included better planning with nursing
schools and between regions, and regularly reviewing
capacity.

Some of the onus was also put on
educators.

“We also encourage nursing schools to
strengthen working relationships with primary care, aged
residential care and other non-Health NZ services to find
placement locations for students,” she said.

Gray said
HNZ was also working with the sector to streamline curricula
and planning to reduce administration administration and
“last minute changes and requests from nursing
schools”.

Nurse educator Maree Sheard told RNZ more
positions needed to be created in community nursing, like
primary healthcare.

“But of course, the funding isn’t
there to support extra nursing in the community either,” she
said.

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