A new proposal that will require Te Whatu Ora to offer
all eligible graduate nurses jobs in the public health
system will help keep them in nursing and in Aotearoa New
Zealand, NZNO says.
Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o
Aotearoa NZNO national student vice-chair Dawn Blyth says
the election policy from Labour announced today would be
welcomed by nursing students.
“Traditionally up to 90%
of nursing graduates have been employed into hospitals where
they receive invaluable on-the-job mentoring and skill
development.
“However, despite recent promises from
the Coalition Government to hire 1800 graduates this
financial year, less
than half of graduates over the past two years have
received job offers.
“It is soul-destroying for
nursing graduates to study for three years and hope for a
job and then not get one. A survey of nursing students last
year found more than 61%
were considering moving overseas for work if they
couldn’t get a position in New Zealand,” Dawn Blyth
says.
Outgoing NZNO Te Rūnanga Tauira (student) chair
Poihaere Whare says hiring all eligible graduates would help
create a sustainable pipeline of Aotearoa New
Zealand-trained nurses.
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“A focus on getting nurse
graduates into primary care will help whānau get the care
they need in their own communities.
“However, only
around 250 of the 400 graduate places were filled by primary
care employers last financial year because they are so
stretched, they don’t have the capacity to mentor new
nurses.
“And with current pay rates for primary care
nurses at levels around 11% lower than their hospital
counterparts, nurses are leaving family doctor clinics for
better pay. Nurses working for Māori and Iwi providers earn
even less.
“If Labour is serious about building the
nursing workforce and fixing the health system, it must fund
primary care sufficiently so all nurses working in the
sector can receive pay parity with Te Whatu Ora nurses,”
Poihaere Whare
says.
