Can New Zealand achieve self‐sufficiency in its nursing workforce?

Aims and objectives. This paper reviews impacts on the nursing workforce of health policy and reforms of the past two decades and suggests reasons for both current difficulties in retaining nurses in the workforce and measures to achieve short‐term improvements. Background. Difficulties in retaining nurses in the New Zealand workforce have contributed to nursing shortages, leading to a dependence on overseas recruitment. In a context of global shortages and having to compete in a global nursing labour market, an alternative to dependence on overseas nurses is self‐sufficiency. Design. Discursive paper. Method. Analysis of nursing workforce data highlighted threats to self‐sufficiency, including age structure, high rates of emigration of New Zealand nurses with reliance on overseas nurses and an annual output of nurses that is insufficient to replace both expected retiring nurses and emigrating nurses. A review of recent policy and other documents indicates that two decades of health reform and lack of a strategic focus on nursing has contributed to shortages. Recent strategic approaches to the nursing workforce have included workforce stocktakes, integrated health workforce development and nursing workforce projections, with a single authority now responsible for planning, education, training and development for all health professions and sectors. Conclusions. Current health and nursing workforce development strategies offer wide‐ranging and ambitious approaches. An alternative approach is advocated: based on workforce data analysis, pressing threats to self‐sufficiency and measures available are identified to achieve, in the short term, the maximum impact on retaining nurses. A human resources in health approach is recommended that focuses on employment conditions and professional nursing as well as recruitment and retention strategies. Relevance to clinical practice. Nursing is identified as ‘crucial’ to meeting demands for health care. A shortage of nurses threatens delivery of health services and supports the case for self‐sufficiency in the nursing workforce.