ACT is warning that new standards of competence for registered and enrolled nurses will distract from individual patient needs and make it harder to attract and retain nurses.

“The role of the Nursing Council is to protect the health and safety of the public and ensure nurses are competent and fit to practise. But new standards of competence set to be implemented on 20 January will veer the nursing profession badly off-track,” says ACT Health spokesperson Todd Stephenson.

“Once upon a time, being a nurse was a matter of having the right skills and a kind heart. Now we are asking nurses to have the ‘correct’ views on the Treaty of Waitangi and to make assumptions about patients’ needs based on their ethnicity.”

The six planned ‘pou’ (pillars) of competency for registered nurses are:

Pou one: Māori health
Example: Nurses must use te reo and incorporate tikanga Māori into practice.

Pou two: Cultural safety
Example: Nurses must be able to describe the impact of colonisation and advocate for cultural and spiritual health.

Pou three: Whanaungatanga and communication
Example: Nurses must use culturally appropriate communication in all interactions.

Pou four: Pūkengatanga and evidence-informed nursing practice
Example: Nurses must support whānau choice of alternative therapies such as the use of Rongoā (herbal remedies, massage, and spiritual healing).

Pou five: Manaakitanga and people-centredness
Example: Nurses must integrate relational and whakapapa-centred care to meet the needs of people and whānau.

Pou six: Rangatiratanga and leadership
Example: Nurses must support the constant assessment and improvement of sustainability practices.

“Rather than seeing patients as people with basic humanity and individual needs, nurses are being told to focus on their patients’ ethnic identity. Clinical needs are sidelined in favour of a focus on the Treaty, ‘cultural safety’, and even spiritual concerns,” says Mr Stephenson.

“I have been contacted by nurses who are bewildered by the standards and are concerned they will be required to take extensive additional trainings, when they would rather focus on improving individual nursing skills.

“You have to wonder how we’re meant to attract overseas-trained nurses when our bespoke local standards send the message that their skills and experience are not valued here.

“On Monday, I wrote to the Minister of Health asking that he assess the impact of the proposed competencies.

“In fact, during the election campaign, ACT proposed giving the Health Minister power to override decisions of regulatory authorities like the Nursing Council if the Minister believes those decisions go beyond what is necessary to protect public health and safety.”

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