Cost was also also a barrier for more than half of the 49 cancer nurses around the country surveyed, new college chair Heather Bustin told Kaitiaki Nursing New Zealand.
Yet upskilling nurses was critical for the safety of cancer patients, who were were becoming increasingly complex, she said. And with 33 more funded cancer drugs available since the 2024 Budget’s $604 million Pharmac four-year funding boost, there were more side-effects to manage.
‘They’re so short-staffed, the education gets pulled away from under their feet.’
“The more drugs you give people, the more side effects you need to expect. So nurses really have to [upskill]. It’s for the patients that [education] really needs to be prioritised,” Bustin said. “We need to have that knowledge — we need to be prepared for that”.
The college’s 2025 survey found 51 per cent (25 out of 49 members surveyed) lacked funding to carry out further study, professional development or education, while 49 per cent (24 out of 49) lacked time due to staffing constraints at work.
“They’re so short-staffed, the education gets pulled away from under their feet, which is hard. They’re picking up extra shifts and not being able to go to their scheduled education,” Bustin said.
“I think there is enough education out there — but it’s releasing nurses to take it up.”
Meanwhile, the college was working hard to make education more affordable and accessible for its 600-plus members, especially in rural areas, she said.
Its new YouTube channel provided educational materials when and where members needed. The college had also funded several nurses doing post-graduate study to attend a recent oncology conference — something Bustin wanted to see more of.
Referring to recent cancer target improvements announced by Minister of Health Simeon Brown, Bustin acknowledged the “outstanding mahi of all our oncology colleagues who continue to deliver high-quality compassionate care across the cancer continuum in an increasingly constrained and under-resourced environment”.
In October, Brown released the latest quarterly results showing cancer patients starting treatment within 31 days had grown from 83.5 to 86.3 per cent in the three months to June. However, a deeper dive into Te Whatu Ora-Health New Zealand’s target data shows the figure has fluctuated from 90 to 83 per cent for the same period over the past 10 years.
See also: Skilled nurses crucial for cancer patient outcomes, says new college leader