Introduction
This chapter focuses primarily on the relationship between cultural safety, the Treaty of Waitangi, Maōri health and the legislative requirements of the Nursing Council of New Zealand (‘the Nursing Council’). This includes the ongoing requirements for enrolled nurses, registered nurses and nurse practitioners to demonstrate competence against the competencies for their designated scope of practice. Through the use of practice examples from a registered nurse and student nurse, we consider how nurses demonstrate competence in relation to cultural safety and the Treaty of Waitangi (‘the Treaty’). The use of reflective questions at the end of each practice example enables you to consider your own practice and the examples that you may be able to draw from your practice to demonstrate competence.
Legislation and standards
Under the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act) 2003 (‘the Act’), the Nursing Council governs the practice of nurses by setting and monitoring standards and competencies for registration which ensures safe and competent care for the public of New Zealand (Nursing Council of New Zealand, 2011a ).
Cultural safety , the Treaty and Maōri health are aspects of nursing practice that are rel ected in the Nursing Council’s Education Programme Standards for the Registered Nurse Scope of Practice (‘the Standards’). The Standards for the registration of nurses require that the content of theory- and practice-related experience in nursing programmes include cultural safety, the Treaty and Maōri health. Competencies outlined in the scopes of practice for nurses (Nursing Council of New Zealand, 2009 , 2010 ) require the nurse to practise nursing in a manner that the client determines as being culturally safe and to demonstrate the ability to apply the principles of the Treaty to nursing practice. Additionally, the Nursing Council’s Code of Conduct for Nurses (Nursing Council of New Zealand, 2012 ), requires nurses to respect the cultural needs and values of clients, and practise in compliance with the Treaty. Nurses are assessed against the competencies on an ongoing basis. As the regulatory authority, the Nursing Council is committed to enabling nursing workforce excellence.