New Zealand’s Aged-Care Crisis Is More Than a Nursing Shortage

New Zealand is already facing pressure in aged care, with nursing shortages adding to the challenges faced by the sector. But the issue is not only about filling vacancies today. As the country’s population ages and the need for care grows, New Zealand also needs to understand why some nursing students are hesitant to choose aged care as a career.

The issue comes as New Zealand reviews how its aged-care system can meet future demand. In August 2026, the Aged Care Ministerial Advisory Group called for major changes to strengthen the country’s aged-care system and prepare it for an ageing population.

Nurse shortages are already part of the problem. However, attracting more nurses in the future will also depend on whether aged care is seen as an attractive career by newly qualified nurses.

A 2024 study involving 752 nursing students in Aotearoa New Zealand looked at their views of working in aged residential care. The findings showed that students had mixed views about choosing aged care after graduation. It was not simply a case of students rejecting the sector.

The study found that several factors affected how students viewed aged-care careers. These included staffing levels, available resources, working conditions, career opportunities and professional recognition. Students’ experiences during clinical placements were also important in shaping their views.

For nursing students, placements provide an opportunity to see what working in a particular area of nursing is really like. Their experiences can influence the type of work they want to pursue after graduation. This makes the quality of aged-care placements an important part of the workforce conversation.

An earlier study published in Nursing Praxis also looked at how nursing education may influence students’ perceptions of aged-care nursing. The research suggests that the way aged care is presented during nursing education can affect how students understand the sector and whether they consider it as a future career.

This means the workforce challenge cannot be addressed through recruitment alone. The sector also needs to consider the experiences students have during training and the opportunities available to them once they qualify. Working conditions, career development and professional recognition can all influence whether nurses choose to enter and remain in aged care.

New Zealand’s ageing population makes this issue increasingly important. As demand for aged-care services grows, the country will need enough nurses to support older people across the health and care system. The decisions made during nursing education today could therefore have an impact on the workforce available tomorrow. For nursing students and nurses looking at New Zealand, aged care is likely to remain an important part of the country’s healthcare workforce. The challenge for the sector is not simply finding more nurses, but creating an environment in which more nurses see aged care as a career worth choosing.

Source:

https://theconversation.com/nursing-students-are-rejecting-careers-in-aged-care-a-staffing-crisis-is-coming-290137https://www.unitec.ac.nz/epress/index.php/aotearoa-new-zealand-student-nurses-perceptions-of-working-in-aged-care-august-2024/

https://www.nursingpraxis.org/article/83396-an-exploration-of-how-nurse-education-practices-may-influence-nursing-students-perception-of-working-in-aged-care-as-a-registered-nurse-a-foucauldia