The Enrolled Nurse (EN) workforce development programme is a national initiative funded by NZ Ministry of Health. The focus of the programme is to establish enrolled nurses in primary healthcare (PHC) settings with a specific focus on mental health and addiction service provision, building the Māori and Pacific workforce and equity of health outcomes. To reduce stigma and siloing of mental and physical wellbeing, models of care are expected to be holistic and meet identified service gaps.
The programme works with health providers to develop and strengthen their current health workforce, in particular Māori and Pacific kaimahi (unregulated health workers) who already have strong relationships and lived experience within their communities. The EN workforce development programme also seeks to build a nursing workforce that is reflective of the population demographic. The leadership of this initiative demonstrates a partnership between Māori and Tāngata Tiriti (non-Maori).

Three streams have been designed to demonstrate a multifaceted approach to strengthen the EN workforce. These are currently being piloted.

1. A “Earn While You Learn” model is a targeted approach developed to remove identified barriers and support achievement of Māori and Pacific kaimahi aspiring to become nurses
2. Partnering with tertiary education providers and PHC settings to identify placement opportunities for current students, which then hopefully transitions into employment on registration. Priority is given to embed this service development model with Māori and Pacific providers.
3. Current experienced EN’s designing and leading models of care that address equitable health outcomes and service gaps including mental health and addiction need.

As at May 2022 there are 17 students/EN’s that are active in the programme. 47% are Māori and 18% are Pacific. The intent is that there will be a further 30-40 positions embedded across Aotearoa by June 2024.