The role of the enrolled nurse in New Zealand healthcare has seen constant change and uncertainty over the last 30 years (Wilson, 2000). Positions have disappeared, the regulatory body of the Nursing Council of New Zealand has imposed disadvantageous regulations and there has been a wide-held view that enrolled nursing is at the bottom of the professional ladder (Waitere, 1998). Enrolled nurse training was disestablished in 1993 and re-introduced in 2003, but at the same time the title was changed and the scope of practice diminished. It is therefore difficult to understand why anyone would choose this level of entry into nursing. Yet, for Maori, it appears to have been a viable option because proportionately, there are a greater number of Maori in enrolled nursing that in any other health profession.

Enrolled nursing has evolved in a more equitable way in Britain, where it is not the qualification, but the job role that defines the scope of practice. This paper examines the evolution of the enrolled nurse in New Zealand from my perspective as a registered nurse who has worked with enrolled nurses in both Britain and New Zealand settings and who values the contribution that enrolled nurses make to healthcare outcomes to patients. I have analysed key documents from a critical perspective to draw conclusions about the positioning of enrolled nurses in New Zealand and make recommendations for a more equitable and emancipated future for enrolled nurses.