1000 Indian nurses registered in NZ in the past three years

1000 Indian nurses registered in NZ in the past three years

In the past three years the Nursing Council has registered 1003 nurses who qualified in India, (318 in 2009-2010, 331 in 2010-2011 and 354 in 2011-2012) to practise in New Zealand.

Nursing Council Acting Chief Executive and Registrar Clare Prendergast says in any year around 70% of nurses who have qualified in India are approved for registration in New Zealand. This means that have been assessed as having the same standard of professional competence as any New Zealand educated nurse.

She says the Council is required by law, under the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act, to protect the health and safety of the public. It does this by setting standards for nursing practice.

"It is important that the public know that there is one set of standards for all registered nurses working in New Zealand regardless of where they gained their nursing qualification. We can't have one standard for New Zealanders and another for internationally qualified nurses. Anyone being cared for by a registered nurse can therefore have confidence in their competence, regardless of where the nurse is from, Ms Prendergast said.

Registered nurses in New Zealand are required to have a Bachelors degree at level 7 on the New Zealand Qualifications Framework and any nurse from any country seeking registration here must have an equivalent qualification.

To assist with the assessment of educational equivalence, the Nursing Council, in November last year, had an Indian Diploma assessed by New Zealand Qualifications Authority. This diploma was assessed as being at level 5. Other Indian diplomas have been assessed by external nursing educators who have similarly concluded that the diplomas were not at level 7.

Ms Prendergast says the Nursing Council has always required the qualifications of overseas applicants to be equivalent to level seven and nothing has changed in this regard.

She says the Council is very sympathetic to the plight of Indian nurses who come to New Zealand to work and find they are unable to do so, but they are clearly advised not to come until they have had their applications assessed and have secured a place on a Competence Assessment Programme.

The Council acknowledges the important contribution that internationally qualified nurse makes to New Zealand and they account for just over 20% of the nursing workforce.

Some Indian nurses have also complained that they have been disadvantaged by a recent change in the required content of the Bachelor of Nursing degree which was made, following extensive consultation, to ensure that programme standards are based on contemporary health care practice trends and government health goals. The Council gave four months notice of the change which came into effect at the beginning of March. All applications, whether from New Zealand or internationally qualified nurses, received before this date were assessed against the old standard.

There have been no applicants assessed or declined using the new education standard that came into force on 1 March 2012.

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