A plan to recruit staff into New Zealand's depleted health workforce appears to be fostering wider interest among some who’ve completed the initial training.
Te Whatu Ora launched an Earn and Learn programme two years ago to train health care assistants.
Health care assistants perform a number of support roles in hospitals and are closely supervised by experienced senior staff.
Keziah Toali-Nielson, a graduate of the health care assistants programme, said she was so inspired by the nurses she worked alongside she is now pursuing a nursing career.
“I was just so inspired by the nurses, the stuff they did, the scope of their job,” Toali-Nielson told 1News.
“So at the moment, I’m studying health science and I’m hoping to get into a Bachelor of Nursing degree course.”
Health sector observers said Earn and Learn training is a positive step for Aotearoa and that graduates on a similar course in Britain are transitioning to nursing training in high numbers.
“They’re fully supported from the time that they start, not only with the training but earning a full income,” says Helen Nattrass, the programme lead at Auckland Hospital.
“It really reduces the barriers to people being able to start their healthcare career.”
A range of other pathways are available to qualified health care assistants including training to become anaesthetic and physiology technicians and midwives.
The Government has indicated it is planning to expand the Earn and Learn programme to more centres nationwide but has yet to release details.
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