Students develop strategic plan.

NZNO National Student Unit's (NSU) first-ever strategic planning meeting, held in Wellington in December, has set some clear goals for the future. NSU vice-chair Ashton Stewart said the day broke new ground for delegates and has helped the NSU formalise its activities, mission and goals over the next five years.

The day concluded with the production of a draft strategic direction called "Footprint". This document will be finalised at the NSU's meeting next month.

The NSU's vision is to become the leading voice for all nursing students in New Zealand. Key strategic goals include focusing on membership growth; promoting the NSU profile and NZNO services to students and key stakeholders; establishing an infrastructure to ensure continuity and effective NSU leadership; developing key relationships with other organisations (eg the Nursing Council, University Students' Association and Medical Students' Association); and advocating on issues important to NSU and nursing students.

As the new year gets underway, the focus is on membership growth and ensuring there are NSU delegates at every school campus. There are six vacancies at present--Auckland University of Technology, Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology, Manukau Institute of Technology, Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology, the University of Auckland and the Western Institute of Technology at Taranaki.

NSU chair Danny Morrison describes the NSU as a major political voice for nursing students. "In order for it to function well, these places must be filled. The delegate's role includes representing fellow students' viewpoints and issues nationally, recruiting members and providing information, being a contact for members who have problems during their studies and on clinical placements, and being available to attend regional and national NSU meetings. There is also a role for delegates in understanding NZNO's campaigns and raising awareness of them among students. We need NZNO's support in our campaigns but students want to support the wider membership on its issues too."

Plans to promote NSU's work are well underway, with delegates and NZNO staff visiting campuses in many parts of the country. "The NSU currently has about 2800 members out of a total student population of around 4000. We would like 90 percent of students to join the NSU," said Stewart. "We are the biggest nursing student body and can use our name and that of NZNO to raise our profile and our issues at campus, workplace and government level. We need to work with the Ministry of Health and the Minister on the issues affecting us, in particular student loans, workloads, travel costs and safety when on clinical placement."

Appointing a Te Runanga o Aotearoa NZNO delegate on every campus is another NSU aim. There are presently three Tauira Aronui delegates. According to Hine Hikairo from the Waiariki Institute of Technology, the recruitment and retention of Maori nursing students needs urgent evaluation, as numbers appear to be declining nationally.

The NSU's meeting next month will include the annual meeting with the nursing schools' heads of department.

* The Maori student nurses' hui will be held at Tologa Bay from March 8-11.