Abstract
Context and issues: The pipeline for the allied health, scientific and technical workforce of Aotearoa New Zealand is under growing pressure, with many health providers finding recruitment and retention increasingly difficult. For health providers in rural settings, the challenges are even greater, with fewer applicants and shorter tenures. As the health needs of rural communities increase, along with expectations of uptake of technologies and the Ministry of Health's strategy to ensure care is provided closer to home, being able to retain and upskill the diminishing workforce requires new ways of thinking. Lessons learned: Understanding the activity that has been undertaken by medical and nursing workforces in New Zealand and abroad, as well as the work of the Australian allied health workforce provides context and opportunities for New Zealand. The challenge is for educators, professional bodies, the Ministry of Health and health providers to develop new ways of thinking about developing a rural workforce for the allied health scientific and technical professions.
Highlights
Healthcare delivery in rural and remote areas is challenging
Context and issues: The pipeline for the allied health, scientific and technical workforce of Aotearoa New Zealand is under growing pressure, with many health providers finding recruitment and retention increasingly difficult
It is challenging because the people who live in rural and remote areas are few and far between, providing limited opportunities for efficiencies in service delivery. It is challenging because there are perceptions about rural communities having less: less to offer, less quality, less access. It is challenging because rural and remote health care looks different than urban health care, and that makes it difficult for urban trained health professionals to imagine themselves working rurally, to understand how they will get access to ongoing professional development, how they could contribute to research and innovation
Summary
Jane E George[1] Master of Social Welfare (MSW), Associate Director of Allied Health *. Peter John Larmer[2] DHSc, Associate Professor and Head Nicola Kayes[3] PhD, Director of the Centre for Person Centred Research. Learning from those who have gone before: strengthening the rural allied health workforce in Aotearoa New Zealand. Rural and Remote Health 2019; 19: 4878.
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