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Nursing Council of New Zealand
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Annual Report 2013
34
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12,915 nurses were involved in
professional development and
recognition programmes.
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941 nurses were selected
for recertifcation audits
for continuing competence
and 78% met requirements
immediately.
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Two new professional
development and recognition
programmes were approved and
eight were reapproved.
The role of the Council
in assuring the ongoing
competence of nurses
The HPCA Act requires the Council to
have mechanisms in place to ensure
the continuing competence of nurses to
protect public safety. Those mechanisms
are contained in the continuing
competence framework and compliance
with these requirements is mandatory.
Nurses, like other professionals, are
expected to maintain their competence
and to continue to learn and develop
professionally throughout their careers.
The Council may include conditions
in scopes of practice and, on rare
occasions, decline to issue annual
practising certifcates if the continuing
competence requirements are not met.
Competence framework
The continuing competence framework
is based on a system of declaration
by individual nurses that they meet the
required standards of competence. In their
annual practising certifcate applications,
nurses must declare that they meet
the requirements of the Council for
competence and ftness to practise.
The Council has established three
indicators of competence:
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Practice hours (a minimum of
450 hours/60 days in the past
three years).
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Professional development hours
(a minimum of 60 hours in the
past three years).
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An assessment of competence
to practise against the Council’s
competencies for the relevant
scope of practice.
Two further mechanisms provide
assurance of competence to practise:
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Professional development and
recognition programmes.
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Recertifcation audits.
The Council’s approach to continuing
competence and its indicators of
continuing competence have been
endorsed by independent evaluations.
While individual nurses are responsible
for ensuring their ongoing competence
and continuing professional development,
employers, the profession and the Council
have roles to play in setting standards for
competence and supporting nurses to
meet those standards.
Professional development and
recognition programmes
These programmes are developed by
employers and professional organisations
to support and recognise the ongoing
professional development of individual
nurses. They take place in a range of
workplaces, from district health board
hospitals and community settings to
private surgical hospitals, aged-care
settings, defence forces, and accident
and emergency centres.
The Council views participation in
approved programmes as meeting the
requirements for continuing competence.
It is not known what proportion of nurses
have access to the programmes, but the
Council would like to see their availability
increase. Participating nurses are exempt
from recertifcation audits.
At the end of March 2013, just under
26% of nurses with current practising
certifcates, that is 12,915 nurses, were
reported to be involved – a participation
level that has remained fairly steady.
The continuing competence framework
2012
2013
KEY RESULTS