Deborah Harris: New Zealand's first registered nurse practitioner outlines solutions to nursing workforce shortage

There's growing calls for nursing practitioners to be used as a solution to severe workforce shortages in the health system. 

A piece written this week has called for better recognition and funding for these highly skilled nurses to lighten the load on GPs and in Emergency Departments. 

Deborah Harris, New Zealand's first registered nurse practitioner, says these experts would benefit from more awareness and funding.

"Because nurse practitioners are able to work independently and collaboratively to be able to diagnose and treat patients and their whanau, they are incredibly skilled people who can manage healthcare episodes."

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Sunday Session podcast with Francesca Rudkin
from News Talks edb Right.

Speaker 2 (00:13):
There are calls for nursing practitioners practitioners to be used
as a solution to severe workforce shortages in our house system.
A piece written this week has called for better recognition
and funding for these highly skilled nurses to lighten the
load on GPS and an emergency departments. Joining me to
discuss her thoughts is New Zealand's first registered nurse practitioner,

(00:34):
Debrah Harris. Debra is also an associate professor and Deputy
Director of the School of Nursing at Victoria University, and
wrote the opinion piece alongside colleague Kathy Holloway, and Debra
joins me. Now, good morning.

Speaker 3 (00:48):
To Malie, how are you this morning?

Speaker 2 (00:50):
Very good to thank you? And how could nursing practitioners
be a solution to this workforce shortage that we're dealing with?

Speaker 3 (00:59):
Well, I do think that nurse practitioners could help to
provide a solution where the whole reason though we have
nurse practitioners is to improve access to healthcare delivery. It's
the reason that the Nursing Council of New Zealand And
introduced nurse practitioners. We're underutilized and the funding for our

(01:24):
role has been limited and the importantly the recognition. So
it's great to be interviewed.

Speaker 2 (01:32):
So how could we use our nurse practitioners more effectively?

Speaker 3 (01:37):
Well, because the news practitioners are able to work independently
and collaboratively to be able to diagnose and treat patients
and they're fun.

Speaker 1 (01:48):
Now.

Speaker 3 (01:49):
They are incredibly skilled people who who can manage whole
care episodes and that's actually happening in New Zealands now.
We're also very we're cost effective, but there are some
great examples of that happening in both primary and secondary care.
For example, there are nurse practitioners in Auckland, Wahiki in

(02:11):
Northland and other parts of New Zealand who have their
own practices and so patients actually go to nurs practitioners
in primary healthcare directly to provide that care.

Speaker 2 (02:23):
Debra I did say back in February funding was doubled
for the national training program. Is that enough?

Speaker 3 (02:33):
Yeah? No, that was absolutely fantastic. We were delighted with
that and the nurse Practitioner training program really has made
an incredible difference to the numbers of nurse practitioners. However,
at the moment, we're a little bit concerned to have
to say because our funding for twenty twenty five has
not been confirmed, and so we have people who are

(02:55):
like I get emails and other universities get emails, you know,
all through the week saying when will applications open, and
of course we can't because we don't have the secured
funding yet and it's August, so that's quite tricky.

Speaker 2 (03:11):
Yeah, the funding that you were talking about before, which
isn't adequate, is that to put news practitioners in place
in jobs.

Speaker 3 (03:19):
Yeah, indeed, right, indeed.

Speaker 2 (03:22):
Which is it? You know, considering the difficulties we are
having in the long waiting lists for GP visits and things,
it just sort of seems like a very good solution, Debrah.

Speaker 3 (03:32):
Yeah, absolutely, I mean for many of us, it's a
no brainer actually. But actually one of the things that
we really need to do is listen to news practitioners themselves.
I think the other thing that would be brilliant is this,
the policy makers and our leaders could actually develop a
workforce plan, a health workforce plan that included news practitioners.

(03:55):
Therese are incredibly skilled people that have you know, many
many years experience in the Pacific area that they're working in,
for example, primary healthcare, which we're currently focused on, but
also places like neonatology, cardiology, chair of the elderly and
then have got a master's degree, some of us have

(04:15):
got PhDs and we choose to practice in those areas
so that it provides access and also quality care.

Speaker 2 (04:24):
Just quickly, Debrah, has the Ministry of Health recognized or
acknowledged this as a solution.

Speaker 3 (04:31):
The Ministry of Health do support the nurse practitioner will,
but there was enough funding work There wasn't a funding plan,
There wasn't a workforce plan, do you know. So it's
actually it's actually really hard to to find where we

(04:51):
fit and to have our voice heard.

Speaker 2 (04:53):
Oh well, I appreciate your time this morning, Debraah, thank
you so much for that. Deborah Harris there, who was
New Zealand's first registered nurse practitioner and it was also
an associate professor and Deputy director of the School of
Nursing at Victoria University.

Speaker 1 (05:08):
For more from the Sunday session with Francesca Rudkin, listen
live to news Talks it b from nine am Sunday,
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