Paid placements for Anaesthetic Technician Trainees

Three representative bodies of our Anaesthesia community, The NZ Anaesthetic Technicians Society (NZATS), NZ Society of Anaesthetists (NZSA) and Pasifika Anaesthetists in Aotearoa (PAiA) support the call for paid hospital placements for nurses and encourage this be extended to Anaesthetic Technician Trainee programmes.

Whilst we are actively working through the future of healthcare in Aotearoa this is a crucial opportunity where support can bolster this workforce’s numbers, accessibility, and location.

It is pleasing to see Anaesthetic Technicians identified as one of the priority groups in healthcare workforce planning and a programme to support Anaesthetic Technician Trainees into the workplace through supported placements will benefit more than just the Anaesthetic Technician workforce. It will offer more assistance to a stretched healthcare sector and broaden appeal to the training programme by reducing barriers.

There is genuine concern amongst Anaesthetists on the reduced number or complete lack of Anaesthetic Technicians coming through the work placement programmes, particularly in the regions. Anaesthetic Technicians are crucial in the work we do as Anaesthetists, and we are genuinely concerned for the future of this workforce.

If we want to grow our Anaesthetic Technician workforce and grow it in a way that offers equitable care, supporting those in training programmes with paid placements will reduce barriers to training, particularly in groups where more representation is needed such as Māori, Pasifika and for anyone seeking to retrain. It will allow Anaesthetic Trainees to contribute to their local community as well as remain close to their own whānau and support networks during training placements, a much more sustainable prospect.

A lack of Anaesthetic Technicians is resulting in ongoing cancellations or surgeries and exacerbating current waitlists and there is concern, particularly in the regions, on the number of technicians coming into  placements. 

Extending paid placements to include Anaesthetic Technicians will reduce barriers in training and increase training appeal. Particularly in groups where more representation is needed such as Māori, Pasifika and for anyone seeking to retrain. It will allow Anaesthetic Trainees to contribute to their local community as well as remain close to their own whānau and support networks during training placements.