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August 08, 2022
Māori health workers quick fix for nurse crisis
Gideon Porter
Posted On August 8, 2022
Download AudioA senior nursing trainer says wants to see more resources put into upskilling Māori health workers.
Dr Sue Adams, of the University of Auckland School of Nursing, says Māori who have stepped into healthcare rales as part of the community response to the Covid pandemic could be part of the solution to the nursing shortage.
She says many are now keen to pursue nursing careers – but they need financial support to get them through their training.
“These are healthcare assistants so they’re non-regulated workers already working with providers who have brought with them knowledge, matauranga Māori knowledge, tikanga knowledge and we are bringing them through their enrolled nurse training which takes 18 months. That’s a reasonably quick-fix solution,” Dr Adams says.
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She says of our 55 thousand nurses, less than four and a half thousand are Māori or Pasifika.
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