Skills Matter, on behalf of the Ministry of Health, funds about 260 full-time-equivalent nurses to undertake postgraduate mental health and addiction training each year.
Training is a critical investment for meeting future workforce needs. As highlighted in Nursing Review1, Health Workforce New Zealand benchmark reports indicate some specialist nursing workforces will need to increase by 40 to 100 per cent in the next two decades.
In 2011, Skills Matter funded 144 people to complete the New Entry to Specialist Mental Health Nursing programme (NESP) and 49 for the Clinical Leadership in Nursing Practice Programme. In 2012, the overall number of full-time equivalent places funded is expected to rise to about 270.
New nursing graduates are critical for building an optimal mental health and addiction workforce. The NESP programme is important because it supports the transition of new graduate nurses to clinical practice by building confidence, skills and competence. The Clinical Leadership in Nursing Practice programme is aimed at enhancing the knowledge and skills of current and emerging clinical leaders. Other programmes and priority areas funded by Skills Matter focus on co-existing disorders, cognitive behavioural therapy, allied mental health, and child and youth mental health.
As part of Skills Matters’ quality improvement framework, all students funded in 2011 were recently invited to provide feedback on their programmes. Students were asked about the usefulness and relevance of the training for their practice, factors that supported their study, and their intentions of working in mental health and addiction in the future. In total, 73 nurses provided feedback, including 60 nurses who completed the NESP or clinical leadership programmes2. Overall, feedback was positive and preliminary results are summarised as follows.
Figure 1 - survey respondents
To support learning and development, training needs to be relevant and useful for practice. Overall, a high proportion of NESP and clinical leadership trainees either moderately or strongly agreed that their course content was relevant, that they were satisfied with their course, and would recommend it to others (82-92 per cent).
I greatly appreciate having been given the opportunity for this PG study, I have found it very useful and would recommend anyone commencing a career in mental health nursing to consider doing a PG specialisation course". - New graduate nurse
Figure 2 - course ratings by trainee group
Many nurses felt well supported while completing their course. This support was particularly from preceptors, their organisations and their colleagues. Family support and individual determination were also identified as key factors contributing to successful course completion.
Retention of nurses in the workforce is important. Workforce turnover is costly and nursing shortages are predicted in the future. The 2010 New Zealand nursing workforce report indicates 40 per cent of practising nurses are aged 50 years and over. Consequently, a large proportion of the current workforce will reach retirement age within the next 5 to 15 years. In line with all survey respondents, more than half the NESP students indicated they intended working in the mental health and addiction sector for at least another ten years (32 per cent didn’t know). The proportion was even higher among nurses who had completed the clinical leadership programme with nearly 75 per cent indicating they intended staying in the sector for at least another ten years. The survey also found that 75 per cent of NESP students had either joined the government’s voluntary bonding scheme or were interested in this.
Figure 3 - intentions of working 10 years or more in mental health and addiction in the future
Te Pou would like to thank students for their feedback. A full report on 2011 Skills Matter funded training will be available shortly. Work is also planned with students who were funded in 2010 to examine the longer-term impact of their training. Find out more about the programmes funded by Skills Matter.
Footnotes
- October 2010. Predicted upsurge in nursing demand focus of national workshop.
- 38 from the new entry to specialist mental health nursing programme, 22 from the clinical leadership programme and 13 who had attended other programmes.
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