New Regulations Risk Increasing Nurse Shortages

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New Regulations Risk Increasing Nurse Shortages

New regulations requiring all overseas trained nurses, including those from English speaking countries, to sit language examinations for registration in New Zealand may exacerbate current nursing shortages and put public health and safety at risk, warns the New Zealand Nurses’ Organisation.

NZNO Industrial Services Manager Cee Payne notes that New Zealand is heavily dependent on overseas trained nurses. “About a third of our nursing workforce is overseas trained, one of the highest proportions in the OECD, and currently most come from the United Kingdom. With the global shortage of nurses, it is already difficult to attract and retain overseas trained nurses, especially as our salaries and conditions are not competitive in many parts of the health sector. Asking English nurses to pay another $400 and sit several examinations could be the tipping point in nurses deciding to go to Australia or America rather than New Zealand.”

NZNO also believes that the Cambridge-based International English Language Test System, though widely used, is not fit for purpose and unfairly creates an unnecessary barrier for a significant number of skilled overseas trained nurses. “It is an academic test which has nothing to do with nursing or New Zealand. We believe that nursing communication skills are best assessed in the workplace and see no reason for using IELT where there is no supporting evidence for its effectiveness in this context,” says Payne.

Recent work by NZNO researcher Leonie Walker highlighted the expense, delays and difficulties experienced by large numbers of highly experienced nurses in gaining the required pass rates, with fewer than 40% of respondents passing the test first time. Inconsistencies in marking, lack of relevance to nursing and arbitrarily changing pass rates were all cited as hampering registration with the Nursing Council.

Further reductions in nursing numbers could compromise efforts to deliver safe care in our hospitals particularly in those sectors such as aged care. “Employers in NZ have a difficult enough job already to fill rosters and retain experienced Registered Nurses without further obstacles being put in the way.” said Payne.

ENDS

Further Information: NZNO submission to Nursing Council on the proposed changes to the Policy

http://www.nzno.org.nz/Site/Submissions/Recent/Proposed_changes_to_English_language_Policy_from_J.aspx

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