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.
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.