Overseas nurses to help doctors in rural areas

Rural medical practices may gain access to "nurse practitioners" hired from overseas to supplement overworked doctors in country areas.

The national rural locum scheme, set up by the Rural GP Network, has been asked by the Government to expand its short-term recruiting of fill-in doctors to also cover longer-term posts for GPs and nurse practitioners.

Nurse practitioners are legally able to independently refer patients to specialists, discharge patients, make diagnoses, and order and interpret test results.

The locum scheme's executive director, Patricia McNeil, said there were six qualified New Zealand nurse practitioners, one of whom worked in rural practice.

Associate Minister of Health Damien O'Connor said the extended locum service would be marketing rural New Zealand as an attractive destination for primary health care practitioners.

"It will proactively seek out general practitioners, locums, and nurse practitioners with experience in rural settings, in response to requests from rural providers," Mr O'Connor said.

They must have a bachelor of nursing, a clinical master's degree and have at least four years' nursing experience. Nurse prescribers must also complete pharmacology and clinical therapeutics courses, as well as 100 hours prescribing practice.

Advocates for the use of nurse practitioners have said they would save patients and doctors time and money in rural areas and school clinics.

Ms McNeil said some nurse practitioners in countries such as the United States had shown interest in moving to New Zealand.

The locum service had until now been restricted to filling short-term vacancies for doctors, but was frequently asked to provide locums for more than three months as rural GPs "burn out".

The service is now advertising for almost 60 short-term jobs, some of which it may fill with overseas staff interested in checking out other, longer-term, work in New Zealand.

- NZPA