Roles of the Nursing Council of New Zealand

Question: Write about theRoles of the Nursing Council of New Zealand. Answer: Introduction The Nursing Council of New Zealand is a government entity that was established to regulate the activities of the nursing profession in the country. Since its establishment, the council has been doing a commendable job in promoting the quality of nursing services rendered to the New Zealand public. The paper presents a critical analysis of the roles of the council in relation to the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003 (HPCA Act). The role of the council is clearly stipulated in the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003. According to this act, the council was established to help in performing the following roles and responsibilities: Registration of the Nurses Health care is a broad and organized sector that is made up of different specialties including nursing, pharmacy, dentistry, psychiatry, and pediatric, just to mention, but a few. Each of these specialties has got special councils which regulate their respective operations. Nursing, as one of the healthcare specialties is directly controlled by the Nursing Council of New Zealand whose role is to oversee the registration of nurses. The HPCA Act 2003 gives the board powers to be in charge of registering nurses who practice in the country (s. 5). Since it is the council that has been mandated to do so, it ensures that it registers all the new nurses who are willing to join the profession. For a nurse to be registered, it is mandatory for them to meet certain conditions (Lim Honey, 2014, p. 663). Once an application is made, it is reviewed by the council which then makes the decision to accept or reject it. For an application to be accepted, the nurse must display competence and qualifications in line with the expected criteria (HPCA Act, s. 15). This is the only way through which a nurse can get registered and be recognized as part of the profession. The Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003 has authorized the council to regulate the professional development of nurses (s.18). A nurse can seek for re-registration and advance the career whenever necessary. The first way through which this task is performed is by setting the standards and requirements for ongoing competence for the nurses (Smith, Latter Blenkinsopp, 2014, 2509). Meaning, any nurse who wishes to further education and rise to higher ranks is supposed to comply with the criteria set by the council. For any nurse to advance the career, the nurse must prove to be competent and possess strong academic and professional qualifications expected of a nurse practitioner (Woods, Rodgers, Towers La Grow, 2015, 126). Besides, the council facilitates the professional growth of the nurses by issuing certificates for continued education. Setting Nursing Education and Practicing Standards HPCA Act 2003 has given responsibilities to the council to set the nursing education and practicing standards to be followed in the country (s. 13). It is necessary to do so because nursing is a sensitive discipline which requires a high level of professionalism. This has been accomplished by the council by taking a number of measures. First, the council has been responsible for setting standards for the nursing education. It does this by accrediting the nursing institutions and ensuring that they meet the expected standards (s. 40). For a nurse to be adequately trained, the learning institution must meet certain criteria. For example, the institution should have the requisite academic and non-academic facilities including laboratories, library, and accommodation facilities. At the same time, the credited learning institutions should have well-trained and experienced instructors to guide the teaching and learning process. The Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003 has set certain standards to be complied with by all the learning institutions. It is only the institutions with these facilities which can be empowered to effectively train the nurses and provide them with the necessary practical and theoretical skills which they require for their practice (Trollor, et al., 2016, 74). Secondly, the Health Practitioners HPCA Act 2003 requires the council to maintain high educational standards by accrediting the nursing courses in the country (s. 40). As already hinted, a fully-prepared nurse is a professional who is equipped with excellent theoretical and practical skills. However, for this to be achieved, the courses should be properly designed. This is one of the mandates that have been executed by the council since it is directly in charge of ensuring that the course units delivered to the nursing students both at the under graduate and post graduate levels (Riden, Jacobs Marshall, 2014, 183). Only courses whose content suits the councils standards of the council should be accredited and given a go ahead. It is a commendable thing to do because it promotes quality as it advocates for adequate training and preparation of the nurses before releasing them to serve the public. Thirdly, the council is in charge of protecting the safety and health of the New Zealand public which relies on the healthcare system (s. 64). The council safeguards the interests of the public by promoting the spirit of professionalism amongst its members. The council has to take the necessary measures to ensure that all the nurses in the country adhere to the expected standards of practice (Lim, North Shaw, 2014, 22). According to the guidelines provided by the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003, once a nurse is registered, a nurse must comply with all the regulations governing the profession (Hoare, Mills Francis, 2013, 90). At the same time, the nurses should be ready to treat the patients with the due respect that they deserve irrespective of their cultural, geographical, racial, ethnic, and gender diversities. The council protects the health of the public by advocating for high quality services delivered to the patients. The council has set certain standards that must be followed by all the nurses in order to ensure that the nurses deliver high quality services to the satisfaction of all the patients (Maier, 2015, p. 1631). The HPCA Act 2003 requires the council to be concerned with the monitoring of all the activities of the healthcare providers throughout New Zealand (s.65). To accomplish this mandate, the council not only sets the quality standards, but monitors their effective implementation as well as the addressing any issues of concern that might arise in the course of duty (Harris, Nagy Vardaxis, 2014, 75). For example, whenever any practitioner deviates, the council has to take the necessary measures to investigate and amicably address it (s. 79). Such disciplinary measures have been putting pressure on the nurses to be professionals who adhere to all the quality standards. Conclusion In conclusion, the establishment of the Nursing Council of New Zealand is a commendable idea. The council has been playing a significant role of protecting the safety and health of the New Zealanders. Apart from the registration of nurses, the council has been in charge of the accreditation of the nursing education and monitoring the delivery of safe and quality healthcare services by all the nurses. The council should discharge all its functions in compliance with the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003. References Harris, P., Nagy, S., Vardaxis, N. (2014). Mosby's Dictionary of Medicine, Nursing and Health Professions-Australian New Zealand Edition. Elsevier Health Sciences. Hoare, K. J., Mills, J., Francis, K. (2013). Becoming willing to role model. Reciprocity between new graduate nurses and experienced practice nurses in general practice in New Zealand: A constructivist grounded theory. Collegian, 20(2), 87-93. Lim, A. G., North, N., Shaw, J. (2014). Nurse prescribing: the New Zealand context. Nursing Praxis in New Zealand, 30(2), 18-28. Lim, A. G., Honey, M. (2014). New Zealand newly graduated nurses medication management: results of a survey. Nurse education in practice, 14(6), 660-665. Maier, C. B. (2015). The role of governance in implementing task-shifting from physicians to nurses in advanced roles in Europe, US, Canada, New Zealand and Australia. Health Policy, 119(12), 1627-1635. Riden, H., Jacobs, S., Marshall, B. (2014). New Zealand nurses views on preceptoring international nurses. International nursing review, 61(2), 179-185. Smith, A., Latter, S., Blenkinsopp, A. (2014). Safety and quality of nurse independent prescribing: a national study of experiences of education, continuing professional development clinical governance. Journal of advanced nursing, 70(11), 2506-2517. Trollor, J. N., et al., (2016). Intellectual disability health content within nursing curriculum: An audit of what our future nurses are taught. Nurse Education Today, 45, 72-79. Woods, M., Rodgers, V., Towers, A., La Grow, S. (2015). Researching moral distress among New Zealand nurses: a national survey. Nursing ethics, 22(1), 117-130.