Six in 10 student nurses to consider overseas work if they do not get a job in New Zealand
The New Zealand government is being warned of potential losses in the domestic nursing workforce if they are unable to provide opportunities for employment.
The New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) issued the warning after its new poll found that 61.86% of nursing graduates are considering seeking a job overseas if they are unable to get a new graduate job in New Zealand. This rises to 73% for Māori respondents.
Bianca Grimmer, NZNO National Student Unit Co-chair, said the findings were clear: "Hire us or we will leave."
"This is a significant potential loss of our domestic nursing workforce," Grimmer added in a statement.
Financial issues a problem
According to Grimmer, the fear of not landing a job is made worse by students' financial issues, with 80.39% of them linking it to high levels of stress.
The report further found that 35.61% of the respondents did not work in paid employment, while 61.58% had to significantly reduce their paid work hours during placement.
"We have a health system in crisis. At a time when we desperately need more homegrown nurses, the Government and nursing schools really need to do more to encourage students to stay in their studies and come out well and ready to nurse," Grimmer said.
"Paying all students the minimum or living wage while on clinical placements would make a massive difference to graduate numbers. Nursing students need assistance while they study."
Davis Ferguson, NZNO Te Rūnanga Tauira chair, also underscored that better cultural support in nurse training would help meet the needs of Māori and Pacific students.
"The lack of appropriate cultural support in nursing studies is an issue the Government and training providers need to urgently address," Ferguson said.
Retaining nurses
The poll's findings come amid challenges in retaining nurses despite various attempts from overseas to lure them.
Last year, the NZNO also expressed concern over a recruitment campaign in Queensland, Australia, that sought health workers in New Zealand in exchange for generous perks.
But a statement from Health NZ last week said the landscape of the country's nursing workforce has "changed significantly in recent years."
"Turnover has decreased markedly from 14% in December 2022 to 8.6% in December 2024," said Health NZ acting chief executive Robyn Shearer in a statement.
Shearer was also open in stating that Health NZ is "operating within tight financial constraints," but maintained that they are doing their best for the country's nurses.
Health NZ has given the NZNO until the end of the month to respond to its latest pay offer of a three per cent pay increase over two years.
