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Job Growth and Replacement Needs in Nursing Occupations

• 2.5 Nursing Professionals
  • 2.5.1 Nurse Managers
  • 2.5.2 Nurse Educators and Researchers
  • 2.5.3 Registered Nurses
  • 2.5.4 Registered Midwives

2.5 Nursing Professionals

Before presenting analyses for each nursing professional occupation separately some results are presented for the whole group. Three out of every four Nursing Workers were Professionals in 2001. It is thus the predominant group among Nursing Workers. Apart from Nurse Managers and Nurse Educators and Researchers all Nurse Professionals have to register with the relevant State or Territory councils in order to practice. Most Nurse Managers are registered and so are some Nurse Educators and Researchers.

Table 3 shows that employment of Nurse Professional increased by 30 per cent between 1987 and 2001, to 184 000 in 2001. The annual growth rate for them was estimated to be 1.4 per cent, a rate which is higher than that for Nursing Workers (0.8 per cent) but lower than for Health Professionals (2.0 per cent). Registered Nurses make up nearly 90 percent of the total. Males comprise eight percent of Nurse Professionals.

Table 4 includes some summary statistics on the change in the age structure and hours of work of Nursing Professionals between 1987 and 2001. Employment changes in each occupation are described later but the main focus will be on Registered Nurses.

Table 3. Employment growth of Nursing Professionals, Australia, 1987-01

Occupation	Employment 2001 ('000)	Change 1987 to 2001 (%)	Annual growth rate (%)
Nursing Professionals	183.9	29.9	1.4
Nurse Managers	4.0	66.0	3.4
Nurse Educators & Researchers	2.0	32.8	2.3
Registered Nurses	163.5	29.3	1.4
Registered Midwives	10.1	56.3	2.5
Registered Mental Health Nurses	4.2	-4.3	-0.2
Registered Developmental Disability Nurses	0.2	-56.7	-5.6

Note: The annual rates were estimated by fitting a log linear model to the annual employment data. Only estimate for Registered Mental Health Nurses is not significant at less than 5 per cent level.

Table 4. Summary statistics on Nursing Professionals: age and hours worked per week, Australia, 1987 and 2001

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Qualification profile

Figure 14 shows the qualification profile of Nursing Professionals. As expected in a regulated profession entry to which is governed by qualifications, almost all have attained at least a diploma or higher qualification.

Figure 14. Qualifications profile of Nursing Professionals, Australia, 2000

Note: The Post-graduate category includes higher degrees and post-graduate diplomas, the Diploma includes undergraduate diplomas and associate diplomas. The percentages may not add to 100 because of rounding errors. (Source of data: ABS [2000d])

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2.5.1 Nurse Managers

Employment of Nurse Managers increased by 66 per cent between 1987 and 2001. The average number employed in the last three years, when the largest growth occurred, were over 4 000 (Figure 15). Male representation among Nurse Managers is the same as that among Nursing Professionals.

Figure 15. Employment of Nurse Managers, Australia, 1987-01

Unlike Directors of Nursing, the age profile of Nurse Managers changed significantly between 1987 and 2001 (Figure 16). In 1987, 53 per cent of Nurse Managers were under 35 years of age compared to 14 per cent in 2001. The proportion in the prime age group of 35-54 has doubled to 80 per cent.

Figure 16. Age profile of Nurse Managers, Australia, 1987 and 2001

Note: The percentages for each year may not add to 100 because of rounding errors.

Figure 17 shows a shift towards working full-time, in particular very long hours, among Nurse Managers. Some increase in hours may be associated with the ageing of this group and a desire to increase hours but over a third reported working 45 hours or more in 2001 and whether this is by choice is a matter for investigation.

Figure 17. Hours worked by Nurse Managers, Australia, 1987 and 2001

Note: The percentages for each year may not add to 100 because of rounding errors.

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2.5.2 Nurse Educators and Researchers

Employment of Nurse Educators and Researchers doubled between 1987 and 1998, but as Figure 18 shows, their numbers have since plummeted in sharp contrast to the employment of Nurse Managers. This could be the result of the transfer of professional nurse education to universities and the reclassification of some staff as university lecturers. In due course occupation of a Nurse Educator and Researcher may disappear or may only apply to those who are exclusively based in hospitals.

Figure 18. Employment of Nurse Educators and Researchers, Australia, 1987-01

In general, Nurse Educators and Researchers, although having an older age profile in 2001 than in 1987, are younger than are Nurse Managers. For example, 34 per cent of them are 45 or older compared to 45 per cent of Nurse Managers.

Figure 19. Age profile of Nurse Educators and Researchers, Australia, 1987 and 2001

From the mid-1980s right up to the mid-1990s a typical Nurse Educator and Researcher worked part-time and surprisingly very often less than 16 hours per week (Figure 20). After this period an increasing proportion has been working full-time and by 2001 half of them reported working 35 or more hours per week.

Figure 20. Hours worked by Nurse Educators and Researchers, Australia, 1987 and 2001

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2.5.3 Registered Nurses

Nearly 90 per cent or 163 000 of Nurse Professionals were employed as Registered Nurses in Australia in 2001. Given that two out of every three Nursing Workers are Registered Nurses it is not be surprising to find patterns of employment similar to those for Nursing Workers that have already been discussed earlier. Figure 21 shows the 1990s have largely been a period of stagnation in the employment of Registered Nurses. Only since 1997 has there been growth with quite significant jump of 12 000 in 2001.

Figure 21. Employment of Registered Nurses, Australia, 1987-01

The differences across States and territories are summarised in Table 5. The highest increases in employment between 1987 and 2001 are recorded for Victoria and Western Australia, while Queensland and the Northern Territory had the highest annual growth rates. South Australia and Tasmania had annual growth rates that are negative.

However Figures 22 and 23 show that the summary statistics could be misleading in describing the changes that have occurred. For example, in Victoria the first half of the 1990s was a period of substantial decline while the second half a period of growth. Is the employment influenced by the political cycle? As another example the outlier observation for 1988 and 2000 has exaggerated the annual growth rate for the Northern Territory. Removing these observations from the regression model reduces the growth rate to something that is not significantly different to zero.

Table 5. Employment growth of Registered Nurses by State and Territory, 1987-01

Note: The annual rates were estimated by fitting a log linear model to the annual employment data. Only estimates for Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory are not significant at less than 10 per cent level.

Figure 22. Employment of Registered Nurses in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and South Australia, 1987-01

Figure 23. Employment of Registered Nurses in Western Australia, Tasmania, Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory, 1987-01

Figure 24 shows the average age of Registered Nurses has increased significantly between 1987 and 2001. Far fewer of them were under the age of 25 in 2001 than in 1987. The proportion 45 years and older doubled over this period.

Figure 24. Age profile of Registered Nurses, Australia, 1987 and 2001

Note: The percentages for each year may not add to 100 because of rounding errors.

The largest change in the hours of work of Registered Nurses has been a shift from normal full-time to part-time (over 15 hours per week). The proportion working 35-44 hours per week declined by 8 percentage points between 1987 and 2001, while the proportion working 16-34 hours increased by 6 percentage points (Figure 25). Unlike Nurse Managers there is only a marginal increase in the proportion working 45 hours or more.

Figure 25. Hours worked by Registered Nurses, Australia, 1987 and 2001

Note: The percentages for each year may not add to 100 because of rounding errors.

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2.5.4 Registered Midwives

Employment of Registered Midwives increased gradually between 1987 and 1999. The last two years, however, has seen a very substantial growth in their employment, reaching 10 000 by 2001 (Figure 26). In contrast there has been a 2.2 per cent decline in the number births in Australia between 1987 and 2000 (ABS 2001a). The number of Registered Midwives employed per 1 000 births increased from 26 to 30 between 1987 and 1999, but it has jumped to 42 in 2000. According to ), of the 135 000 Registered Nurses who had a post-initial qualification in 1997, 39 000 had it in midwifery. All this suggests the role of the Registered Midwife has been going through a process of reassessment in recent times. This is the most feminised of all nursing occupation with, on average, only 2 per cent males.

Figure 26. Employment of Registered Midwives, Australia, 1987-01

Registered Midwives are relatively young. (Figure 27). In 2001, the proportion 45 years of age or older was much lower at 24.8 per cent compared to 37.4 per cent for Nursing Professionals. The proportion in the 35-44 age group doubled between 1987 and 2001. In 2001 more than half of them were in this age group.

Figure 27. Age profile of Registered Midwives, Australia, 1987 and 2001

Note: The percentages for each year may not add to 100 because of rounding errors.

Figure 28 shows a very large increase in the proportion of Registered Midwives working part-time (16-34 hours per week) with a corresponding drop in the proportion working full-time. The proportion working 16-34 hours jumped from 38 to 61 per cent between 1987 and 2001. This partly explains the growth in their overall employment.

Figure 28. Hours worked by Registered Midwives, Australia, 1987 and 2001

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