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Issue 09

• National Review on Nursing Education
  • The Review Team
  • National Review of Nursing Education Terms of Reference
• The Impact of Educational Research
• Publications & Websites
  • favourites
  • websites, links & updates
  • copyright & contact

National Review on Nursing Education

The Minister for Education, Training and Youth Affairs, Dr David Kemp and the Minister for Health and Aged Care, Dr Michael Wooldridge have announced a national review of nursing education.

The last review of nursing education was conducted in 1994. This was a year after the final transfer of initial nursing education from the hospitals into the universities. Since that review, the links between nursing education and the demands of the labour market have become a focus of debate. In recent times, State Governments have been raising concerns about general nursing workforce shortages as well as shortages in some specialist nursing areas. Compounding these shortages, school leavers appear to be less interested in a nursing career than in the past.

Other challenges for the education and training of nurses come from the increasing demand for chronic and disability nursing as the population ages, and new technologies. As a consequence, nurses need a mix of new skills and knowledge in this changing health care environment.

Mrs Patricia Heath AM BEM RN has been appointed to lead a team of reviewers. She has had an outstanding career in the health industry and also brings the experience of leadership in higher education.

The review will cover all levels of nursing education and training: enrolled, registered and specialist. Dr Kemp and Dr Wooldridge are appointing a reference group from key organisations to provide advice to the review team. Other stakeholders will have the opportunity to put their views forward through public submissions and consultations. The review will report in mid 2002. This time-line will allow the review to benefit from the work of the Senate Inquiry into Nursing.

The review will be supported by a joint secretariat from the Departments of Education, Training and Youth Affairs (DETYA) and Health and Aged Care. It will be located within the Higher Education Division of DETYA.

Further information about the review can be obtained from its website at:

www.dest.gov.au/highered/programmes/nursing

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The Review Team

• Mrs Patricia Heath (Chair) has recently retired. She has an extensive career in the health industry and held leading positions within the higher education sector. She is a member of the Deakin University Council and has been involved with the Victorian Healthcare Association and Hospital Services Australia.

• Ms Jenny Duncan is National Director of Nursing – Resources, Training and Development, Mayne Health hospitals where she is responsible for managing the resourcing, training and development of nursing. She has more than 18 years experience as a hospital administrator and has experience in operating suite, midwifery and clinical education.

• Ms Ella Lowe is Executive Director of Operations, Peninsula Health, Victoria. She is deputy president of the Nurses’ Board of Victoria. Ms Lowe has nursed in five Australian states and has been director of nursing at two country hospitals: at Cootamundra and Port Hedland.

• Susanne Macri is executive director Australian Nursing Homes and Extended Care Association (NSW). She is a nurse and midwife. Ms Marci has been involved in the Australian Council on Healthcare Standards for ten years.

• Mr John Ramsay is Chairperson of the Australian Health Workforce Advisory Committee (AHWAC) and Secretary of Department of Health and Human Services, Tasmania. He is a barrister and solicitor of the Supreme Court of Tasmania and High Court of Australia.

• Professor Christopher Selby Smith is Director of Monash University-ACER Centre for the Economics of Education and Training and Professor, Department of Management. He has also worked in the Commonwealth Departments of Prime Minister and Cabinet, Health and Industrial Relations and has worked with the World Health Organisation.

• Professor Robin Watts is Director of the Office of University Planning and Professor of Nursing, Curtin University of Technology. She is also Director of the WA Centre for Evidence Based Nursing and Midwifery and has conducted overseas consultancies in Brunei and Thailand.

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National Review of Nursing Education Terms of Reference

Background

Nursing education is a matter of interest to governments both State and Commonwealth. The initial education and training of registered and specialist nurses is principally the responsibility of universities, primarily funded by the Commonwealth education portfolio. The training of enrolled nurses occurs in the Technical and Further Education Institutions of the States. State Governments have a direct interest in their role as the dominant employers of nurses. Nursing workforce issues are matters for both the Commonwealth and State health portfolios. These various responsibilities in relation to education policy, funding and employment all impact on nursing education.

In line with the global movement of preparatory nursing courses into universities, in August 1984 the Commonwealth announced its in-principle support for the transfer of registered nurse preparation from the hospitals into the higher education sector. This transfer was a staged process with different States changing at different times, but the transfer was complete by the end of 1993. In 1994, a review of nursing education in Australian universities examined the outcomes of this transition, in particular, the provision of wider professional preparation and increased career choices for nurses. The findings of the review were that the effects of the transfer of nurse education to the universities had been uneven. The review also found that the broader professional preparation of nurses had been an achievement of the transfer, but tensions between this preparation and the conditions of institutional employment existed. Further, there were outstanding issues of the status of nursing in the universities and the relationships between the various stakeholders and their divergent expectations.

Since the review, issues of the nexus between nursing education and the demands of the labour market have become a focus of concern. There appear to be general nursing workforce shortages as well as shortages in some specialist areas. Other factors affecting the nursing labour market include the demands of new technologies; clients expectations; status, pay and conditions; and the increasing demand for chronic and disability nursing as the population ages. The reduced level of interest of school leavers in nursing as a career, the cost of nursing preparation, the changing demands of the labour market in terms of the types of knowledge and skills required and the timing and distribution of those needs, create a highly complex relationship between the education of nurses and the labour market. This is an appropriate time to examine these issues through a review of nursing education to ensure that nursing education meets the needs of the changing labour market.

Terms of Reference:

1. Against this background the review will examine: the effectiveness of current arrangements for the education and training of nurses encompassing enrolled, registered and specialist nurses; factors in the labour market that affect the employment of nurses and the choice of nursing as an occupation; and the key factors governing the demand for, and supply of nursing education and training.

The review will specifically make recommendations on:

1. models of nurse education and training to meet the emerging labour force, including practical training, processes for articulation between different levels of competency and professional expertise and re-entry into the workforce

2. the types of skills and knowledge required to meet the changing needs of the labour force involved in nursing, and

3. mechanisms for both attracting new recruits to nursing including those from different age groups (both male and female) and encouraging the commitment to life-long learning of those already engaged in nursing.

2. It is expected that the review will consider the following wider issues from the perspective of both the health industry and education:

1. the changing context of nursing and health requirements and the levers influencing these changes, and

2. the links between nursing, medicine and other groups in the health workforce (including those with no health qualifications) in the provision of health services.

3. In carrying out its work, the Review will have regard to:

1. regional needs and circumstances

2. financing arrangements, and

3. the work of current research projects and reviews such as the New Zealand review of nursing education, the Australian Health Workforce Advisory Committee nursing workforce review, and the British review of funding for nursing.

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The Impact of Educational Research

This recently released report comprises five separate studies which explore the nature and value of the relationship between educational research and the teaching profession. The studies examine the extent to which the outcomes of educational research contribute to improved teaching practice and student learning, collaboration between researchers and the teaching profession, and the strengths and weaknesses of educational research in Australian universities.

The studies are:

• Mapping Educational Research and its Impact on Australian Schools (Holbrook, Ainley et al)
• Backtracking Practices and Policies to Research (AAAJ Consulting Group)
• Teacher Knowledge in Action (Faculty of Education, Griffith University)
• Education Research in Australia: A Bibliometric Analysis (Research School of Social Science, Australian National University)
• The Relationships Between Research and Decision Making in Education: An Empirical Investigation (Selby Smith)

The report is available in electronic form on DETYA’s website at:

www.dest.gov.au/highered/research/reps.htm

Limited quantities in hard copy form are available from:

highered@dest.gov.au

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Publications & Websites

favourites

• Atlas of Higher Education: A community focus www.dest.gov.au/uniatlas

• e-news on higher education www.dest.gov.au/highered/enews

• Backing Australia’s Ability
  www.innovation.gov.au/iap

• Higher Education Report for the 2001 to 2003 Triennium www.dest.gov.au/highered/he_report/2001_2003

Websites, links & updates

websites

Main page for DETYA’s Higher Education Division
www.dest.gov.au/highered

HECS—higher Education Contribution Scheme
www.hecs.gov.au

Which Course? Which University?
www.dest.gov.au/tenfields

National Office of Overseas Skills Recognition
www.dest.gov.au/noosr

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Links

Higher Education Links can help you access ...

• Australian State and Territory Education Departments

• Australian Education Organisations

• Australian Universities

• Australian Universities - Admissions Centres

• Careers Information

• MCEETYA 

• Overseas Universities and Organisations

• Research Organisations

www.dest.gov.au/highered/links.htm

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updates

DETYA’s website has new information posted to it on a regular basis. You can keep up with changes via the free Site Change Subscription Service (SCSS). This Service notifies subscribers of significant updates and additions to DETYA websites. 

how it works

Interested parties need to register to the subscription service. Registration involves providing your email address and selecting the parts of DETYA’s website you wish to be notified about.

what it does

Once registered, subscribers will be sent a weekly email (usually on Monday evenings) with a brief description of any changes and the address for such pages.

At www.dest.gov.au select Site Change Subscription Service

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Copyright

© Commonwealth of Australia 2001
ISSN 1440-7329
DETYA No. 6639HERC01A
ABN: 51 452 193 160

This work is copyright. It may be reproduced in whole or in part for study or training purposes subject to the inclusion of the source and no commercial usage or sale. Reproduction for purposes other than those indicated above, require the written permission from the Commonwealth available through AusInfo. Requests and inquiries concerning reproduction and rights should be addressed to the Manager, Legislative Services, AusInfo, GPO Box 1920, Canberra ACT 2601.

The views expressed in this report do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs.

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Contact

e-news on higher education editorial enquiries:
Sharon Pratt
tel: 02 6240 7975
fax: 02 6123 6355
email: highered@dest.gov.au

e-news on higher education
issue number: enews-08
released 24 April 2001

e-news is available on the Internet at:
www.dest.gov.au/highered/enews

Full PDF copy of the issue.

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