Nursing workforce issues will be “front and centre” after an early medical workforce focus, says Health Workforce New Zealand director Brenda Wraight.
Wraight said she was aware of the perception HWNZ had been “very medically focused” but this was now about to change.
She said nursing leaders appeared to understand there were some urgent issues to address with medical training but “my focus is now to bring nursing front and centre”.
The HWNZ board was set up late last year under the chair of Des Gorman to lead the development of the health workforce. The HWNZ business unit, which Wraight heads, has now been set up within the Ministry of Health.
Wraight said she was very committed to nursing workforce issues and the focus would turn to nursing for the August board meeting. A range of leaders from the nursing sector had been invited to the meeting to discuss what the future nursing workforce should look like and what areas should be invested in.
Nurses from across the sector also made up a large proportion of the approximately 250 senior health leaders attending the first Clinical Leadership Forum in Wellington, Wraight said. The forum discussion would lead to a practical action plan of “tangible and concrete” steps required for clinical leadership, including the need for a career pathway for aspiring clinical leaders and health leaders in general.
HWNZ has also taken over the former Clinical Training Agency’s roles with the Christchurch-based agency to be transferred to Wellington and renamed the Investment Relationships and Purchasing arm of HWNZ.
Wraight said the postgraduate funding pool for nursing for next year would be within five per cent of this year’s amount with no change of direction for 2011 funding.
Meanwhile she said the voluntary bonding scheme, with registration of the 2010 intake just completed, would “definitely” involve more tracking and mechanisms as it wanted to know where “bonded” nurses and junior doctors were working and whether and how they moved jobs during the bonding period.
Wraight, an educational psychologist by background, said her recent career had had a workforce development focus with her most recent role being managing the Resident Medical Officer (RMO) and Senior Medical Officer (SMO) commissions for the Director-General of Health.
