For primary care nurses here on the Hibiscus Coast and around New Zealand, advanced education opportunities are expanding.

Health Minister Simeon Brown says 235 primary care registered nurses will start advanced education through new scholarships this year.

Mr Brown says the Government committed last year to support up to 120 primary care registered nurses each year over four years, and demand has led to 235 scholarships being awarded this year.

Placements begin from next week, and calls it “the highest number of primary care nurses ever supported into advanced education in a single year”.

The expansion has been achieved within existing funding.

Of the 235 registered nurses currently working in primary and community healthcare settings, 147 will work towards a Postgraduate Diploma in Prescribing and 88 will undertake a Master of Nursing.

Mr Brown says nurses who complete these qualifications can become registered nurse prescribers, working as part of collaborative healthcare teams and prescribing from an approved list of medicines.

Many will continue along the pathway to become nurse practitioners.

Mr Brown says nurse prescribers can now prescribe 211 additional medicines, covering “a wide range of common and long-term conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes, respiratory conditions, and menopause symptoms”.

This additional training capacity comes following the expansion of prescribing rights announced in December.

Get the Hibiscus Coast headlines first.

Corrections, tips, or photos, [email protected]