NZ dependent on overseas-trained nurses

4.00pm

An international study has shown nearly a quarter of New Zealand nurses are overseas-trained, the New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) says.

NZNO chief executive officer Geoff Annals said today the study, published in the US journal Health Affairs, highlighted New Zealand's dependence on overseas-trained nurses.

The study, titled Trends In International Nurse Migration, shows 23 per cent of New Zealand-registered nurses are foreign-trained, compared to 8 per cent for both the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Mr Annals said that figure here was rising, as overseas-trained nurses accounted for about half of annual registrations with the New Zealand Nursing Council in the past five years. In the past two years, overseas-trained nurses have outnumbered New Zealand-trained nurses gaining registration.

The dependence on foreign nurses was largely syptomatic of failed policies and under-investment in nursing, he said, with planning to ensure enough nurses in future "woefully inadequate".

The NZNO estimates that there is a shortage of about 2000 nurses.

"Not only are we foolishly competing with other wealthier developed countries in a worldwide market which is running out of nurses, but we are failing to acknowledge that the market is drying up," Mr Annals said.

"Our policy of relying on overseas nurses to fix our nursing shortage is unsustainable and will run into major problems as a worldwide nurse shortage grows."

New Zealand should ensure that pay and conditions made nursing a viable career option, he said.

The NZNO has also found that nurses who remain in New Zealand are leaving nursing for better paid jobs with better hours and conditions.

- NZPA