Evaluation of the New Graduate Nurse employment scheme through the Very Low Cost Access initiative: Final evaluation report

This publication is the final report of the evaluation commissioned by the Ministry of Health on the first year of the Very Low Cost Access (VLCA) new graduate nurse (NGN) employment initiative. An interim evaluation report was published on the Ministry of Health website in November 2014.

• Read the interim report from November 2014

The evaluation final report highlights:

• that 35 of the 48 VLCA practices retained their NGN beyond the first year of the initiative
• 90% of the NGNs on the scheme are more interested in a career in primary care than before they worked at a VLCA practice
• the need for a well-structured induction process and an appropriate level of support for NGNs
• a range of positive impacts on sustainability of the general practice workforce arising from the initiative

The report provides a range of conclusions that feature the value of the scheme in supporting NGNs into primary care and supporting sustainability of VLCA practices.