Nurse assistant title remains.(News And Events)

Despite concerted efforts by enrolled nursing (EN) students and recent EN graduates, NZNO, the Council of Trade Unions and various MPs, the Nursing Council is retaining the nurse assistant (NA) title. The Council is four scopes of practice came into effect this month.

The Council sparked a deluge of criticism when it announced the NA title, with a separate scope of practice, for those who have completed or are completing Northland Polytechnic and Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology (CPIT) courses. Students and graduates of these courses have been outraged at the decision. A CPIT graduate, Paul Szeweczyk, who gave up a $60,000-a-year job in the printing trade in Australia to become an EN, was the driving force behind a petition which has been …