Health assessment and its relationship to nursing practice in New Zealand.

Health assessment has been an integral component of nursing education in Australia for over a decade. New Zealand has only recently embarked down this path and might benefit from the Australian experience. This article will discuss health assessment in the context of three issues currently topical in nursing in New Zealand. The issues are annual registration based on evidence of competence to practice, a review of undergraduate curricula, and the development of nurse practitioner/advanced nurse practitioner roles. The meaning of the concept 'health assessment' is also clarified in order to provide consistency as new initiatives in nursing are currently being developed.