National Review of Nursing Education

Nursing Education and Graduates Part 2

3. Results and Discussion

• 3.1 Nursing Course Profiles
• 3.2 Undergraduate Nursing Education Course Profiles
• 3.3 Postgraduate Nursing Education Course Profiles
• 3.4 Undergraduate Student Profiles
• 3.5 Undergraduate Clinical Experience
• 3.6 Postgraduate Student Profiles

3.4 Undergraduate Student Profiles

Survey respondents were asked to provide student data on the number of domestic and international students enrolled in each pre-registration and post-registration program offered at each campus of their particular university in 2002. Pre-registration nursing students are those who, upon completion of the relevant pre-registration course, would be eligible for Division 1 nurse registration for the first time. Post-registration nursing students are already Division 1 registered nurses and are either upgrading their hospital education to a Bachelor degree in nursing, or completing an honours degree in nursing. Domestic students were defined as students who were Australian citizens and/or permanently resided in Australia. International students were defined as students who were not Australian citizens and/or did not permanently reside in Australia. It was important to differentiate domestic and international students and pre-registration and post-registration students to ensure that student profiles displayed an accurate representation of a potential new nurse workforce in Australia.

Undergraduate student data were collected according to new (first year students), existing (second, third and fourth year students) and total students (all students), with data separated into domestic students and international students. Survey respondents were also asked to provide details on the number of domestic student completions for each pre-registration and post-registration course for 2001 and to provide estimates of the number of domestic students expected to complete the respective courses in 2002. Tables showing actual undergraduate pre-registration domestic student numbers and completions, by State, institution and campus locations, appear in Appendix B.

Figure 1 displays the total number of domestic undergraduate pre-registration nursing students enrolled in each State in Australia in 2002. New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland had 74% collectively of the total domestic pre-registration nursing students across Australia. This may reflect the relative population of these States and the number of universities offering nursing programs.

Figure 1 Total domestic undergraduate pre-registration nursing students by State for 2002

Figure 2 displays the total number of domestic undergraduate post-registration nursing students enrolled in each State in Australia in 2002. In comparison with pre-registration student enrolment numbers, post-registration student numbers are low. The most likely explanation for this is that most hospital educated nurses have already converted their qualifications, with most having completed this process in the 1990’s. Second, nursing has traditionally enrolled few students in honours degrees. Comparison of the 2002 post-registration enrolment data with the Ogle et al. (2001) post-registration enrolment data showed that New South Wales was the only State to report a marked increase in post-registration nursing students over the last two years.

Figure 2 Total domestic undergraduate post-registration nursing students by State for 2002

Figure 3 displays the distribution of new, existing and total domestic undergraduate pre-registration nursing students currently enrolled in each State in Australia. For each State, new pre-registration nursing students equal approximately one third of the total number of pre-registration nursing students. This pattern of enrolments may be expected for a three-year degree with high retention of students. However, this may change in the future if longer combined degrees (four to five years) attract more students.

Figure 3 New, existing and total number of domestic undergraduate pre-registration nursing students by State for 2002

Note: This data is represented with other data in Appendix B, Table B1.

Figure 4 displays a comparison of the 2001 and 2002 total number of domestic undergraduate pre-registration nursing students for each State in Australia. Most States show an increase in the pre-registration nursing student enrolments over the two-year period. The greatest increase in domestic pre-registration student enrolments has taken place in Queensland, reporting almost 500 more student enrolments in 2002, compared with the enrolments reported in 2001.

Figure 4 Total domestic undergraduate pre-registration nursing students by State for 2001 and 2002

Note: This data is represented with other data in Appendix B, Table B1.

Figures 5 – 9 show the geographical distribution of the total domestic undergraduate pre-registration nursing students enrolled in 2001 and 2002 for Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia respectively. The distribution is shown through the campus location of students as being either metropolitan, regional or rural/remote. As the single university States (Tasmania, ACT and Northern Territory) each had only one enrolment location, they were not included in this analysis. For Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland, approximately one third of domestic undergraduate pre-registration nursing students were enrolled on rural/remote campuses. A far smaller percentage of students were enrolled at rural/remote locations in Western Australia and South Australia, reflecting the limited availability of nurse education courses in these areas. Neither Western Australia nor South Australia offered courses in a regional centre.

Figure 5 Total domestic undergraduate pre-registration nursing students by metropolitan, regional and rural/remote campus locations in Victoria for 2001 and 2002

Note: This data is represented with other data in Appendix B, Table B2.

Figure 6 Total domestic undergraduate pre-registration nursing students by metropolitan, regional and rural/remote campus locations in New South Wales for 2001 and 2002

Note: This data is represented with other data in Appendix B, Table B3.

Figure 7 Total domestic undergraduate pre-registration nursing students by metropolitan, regional and rural/remote campus locations in Queensland for 2001 and 2002

Note: This data is represented with other data in Appendix B, Table B4.

Figure 8 Total domestic undergraduate pre-registration nursing students by metropolitan, regional and rural/remote campus locations in Western Australia for 2001 and 2002

Note: This data is represented with other data in Appendix B, Table B5.

Figure 9 Total domestic undergraduate pre-registration nursing students by metropolitan, regional and rural/remote campus locations in South Australia for 2001 and 2002

Note: This data is represented with other data in Appendix B, Table B6.

Figure 10 displays the total number of new domestic undergraduate pre-registration nursing students by State in Australia for 2001 and 2002. Most States show an increase in the number of new domestic pre-registration nursing students over the two-year period with three States showing a decrease. Equivalent full-time student load (EFTSU) may explain, in part, some of these differences. EFTSU is related to the part-time/full-time ratio of students. Universities with higher ratios of full-time students may have lesser total number of students, but greater EFTSU loads than universities with higher ratios of part-time students, thereby affecting the overall total number of students shown for that State. Therefore, numerical differences between years for any State may not indicate a change in EFTSU load but just a change in part-time/full-time student ratios.

Figure 10 Total new domestic undergraduate pre-registration nursing students by State for 2001 and 2002

Note: This data is represented with other data in Appendix B, Table B1.

Figure 11 displays the domestic undergraduate pre-registration nursing student completions by State for 2001 with projections for 2002. For most States there appears to be an increase in the number of projected completions for 2002, compared with the completions reported for 2001. However, projected completions need to be viewed with caution as a number of factors can influence actual student completion numbers, including attrition, failures, withdrawal from units and changes in part-time and full-time status. Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, Tasmania and Northern Territory projected increases of 22%, 5%, 19%, 27%, and 9% respectively. In contrast, New South Wales, South Australia and ACT projected decreases of 1%, 4%, and 6% respectively.

Figure 11 Domestic undergraduate pre-registration nursing student completions by State for 2001with projections for 2002

Note: This data is represented with other data in Appendix B, Table B8.

Figures 12 – 16 display the domestic undergraduate pre-registration nursing student completions by State and metropolitan, regional and rural/remote campus locations for 2001 with projections for 2002. Once again, single university States (Tasmania, ACT and Northern Territory) were not included because enrolments take place at only one campus location. Domestic nursing students completing pre-registration programs in rural/remote campus locations in Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland, represented approximately 30% of the total pre-registration course completions in these States. Western Australia and South Australia did not have a regional component, and the proportion of student completions at rural/remote campus locations in these States were considerably less than the more populous States.

Figure 12 Domestic undergraduate pre-registration nursing student completions by metropolitan, regional and rural/remote campus locations in Victoria for 2001 with projections for 2002

Figure 13 Domestic undergraduate pre-registration nursing student completions by metropolitan, regional and rural/remote campus locations in New South Wales for 2001 with projections for 2002

Figure 14 Domestic undergraduate pre-registration nursing student completions by metropolitan, regional and rural/remote campus locations in Queensland for 2001 with projections for 2002

Figure 15 Domestic undergraduate pre-registration nursing student completions by metropolitan, regional and rural/remote campus locations in Western Australia for 2001 with projections for 2002

Figure 16 Domestic undergraduate pre-registration nursing student completions by metropolitan, regional and rural/remote campus locations in South Australia for 2001 with projections for 2002

Figure 17 displays the domestic undergraduate pre-registration nursing student completions by State, projected in the Ogle et al. (2001) study, with that reported as actual 2001 completions in the present study. The projected and reported 2001 completions for most States are similar. Increases or decreases in reported completions compared to projected completions may be due to factors such as attrition/retention, failures/non-failures, withdrawal from units and changes in part-time and full-time status. Whilst the 2001 projected student completions were slightly higher overall than the actual reported completions, data captured in the current study closely validated the projections of Ogle et al. (2001).

Figure 17 Domestic undergraduate pre-registration nursing student completions by State projected and reported for 2001

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3.5 Undergraduate Clinical Experience

The Review Panel was interested in the number of clinical experience hours and on campus clinical laboratory experience undertaken in undergraduate nursing pre-registration courses. Universities, to foster students’ clinical skill and knowledge acquisition, adopt two main approaches. Firstly, there is usually on-campus laboratory clinical experience, simulating nursing situations. Secondly, there is clinical experience where students are supervised in functional settings such as health care agencies and the community. The clinical experience is normally aligned with the theoretical program of the undergraduate course. Currently there is conflicting information about the exposure students have to clinical settings and the length of clinical experience requirements in undergraduate pre-registration nursing programs.

This study has mapped both the off-campus clinical experience and the on-campus clinical laboratory hours in undergraduate single degree pre-registration programs. Due to the plethora of combined degrees available and in order to have definable parameters, information was sought only on three-year single degree undergraduate pre-registration programs. However, normally when nursing degrees are combined with another discipline, such as nursing and health promotion, the period of enrolment is lengthened and there is an expectation that students achieve the expected outcomes of both awards. In cases where nursing is combined with another area of clinical practice, such as nursing and midwifery, it could be projected that both the length of student enrolment and the amount of clinical experience would increase.

Universities were asked to provide information about the number of hours of clinical experience in a clinical placement over the length of their undergraduate pre-registration course; the number of hours of on-campus laboratory clinical experience; the number of hours students undertake in range of clinical settings; the semester in which students undertake their first clinical placement in an acute hospital setting and the assessment methods used to monitor the quality of clinical experience.

Many universities indicated that there was considerable flexibility in the number of off-campus clinical experience and on-campus laboratory clinical experience hours that students could undertake during pre-registration courses. Where this was indicated, universities were asked to provide the minimum number of hours required. Several universities were excluded from these analyses because they failed to provide adequate information or did not have three-year pre-registration degrees. It was found that universities with more than one campus in a State tended to report the same hourly requirements for each campus. Therefore, these universities are represented only once for each State.

Figures 18 to 22 display the number of hours of clinical experience and laboratory clinical experience for each university in Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia respectively. Results for the ACT, Northern Territory and Tasmania were combined into one figure (Figure 23) because they each have only one university conducting pre-registration nursing courses.

The results indicated that students in most universities spend considerably more time in off-campus clinical settings than in the on-campus clinical laboratory experience. Most universities require students to spend between 600 and 1100 hours in clinical placements during three-year pre-registration nursing degrees. Laboratory hours generally varied between 50 and 300 hours.

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Figure 18 Hours of clinical experience and laboratory clinical experience for pre-registration nursing courses at Victorian universities

Note: For Victoria, the University of Melbourne and RMIT University were not included in the analysis. The University of Melbourne did not have a three-year pre-registration nursing course and RMIT University did not supply adequate information on clinical experience.

Figure 19 Hours of clinical experience and laboratory clinical experience for pre-registration nursing courses at New South Wales universities

Figure 20 Hours of clinical experience and laboratory clinical experience for pre-registration nursing courses at Queensland universities

Figure 21 Hours of clinical experience and laboratory clinical experience for pre-registration nursing courses at West Australian universities

Figure 22 Hours of clinical experience and laboratory clinical experience for pre-registration nursing courses at South Australian universities

Figure 23 Hours of clinical experience and laboratory clinical experience for pre-registration nursing courses at ACT, Northern Territroy and Tasmanian universities

Placements for the clinical experience component of three-year pre-registration nursing courses were investigated further by asking for the number of hours students spent in various types of clinical settings including: medical/surgical; aged care; community health; mental health; rural health; family/child health and day surgery. Responses to the survey indicated that many universities had difficulty in accurately providing this information for three main reasons:

• Some universities reported they had minimum and maximum hours in particular clinical settings and that students could fulfil course requirements anywhere within this band of hours.

• Many universities indicated that students were given the opportunity of choosing one or more of their clinical placements, which may result in more exposure in one clinical setting than another.

• Some rural universities had difficulty in separating rural health placements from other clinical settings, arguing that all of their placements were in rural health settings.

These difficulties resulted in incomplete information and an inability to accurately calculate the minimum, maximum and mean number of hours spent in the various types of clinical placement settings. Nevertheless, from the data obtained it would appear that medical/surgical placements comprise the largest number of clinical placement hours for pre-registration nursing courses in Australia. Some universities also reported that day surgery placements were included in the hours reported for medical/surgical placements. In addition, medical/surgical, mental health, community health and aged care were the most common types of clinical placements reported for undergraduate pre-registration nursing courses across Australia.

Almost half of the universities offering three-year pre-registration nursing programs in Australia (42%) reported that students undertake their fist clinical placement in an acute hospital setting in the first semester. The most common assessment methods used to monitor the quality of the clinical experience were reported by universities as being ANCI competencies (42%) and a university clinical assessment tool (19%).

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3.6 Postgraduate Student Profiles

Data were collected on the number of 2002 domestic and international students enrolled in various postgraduate programs by nursing specialty from each university offering postgraduate nursing education in Australia, and one non-university educational provider in New South Wales. It was important to differentiate domestic and international postgraduate students to ensure that student profiles were an accurate representation of the specialty educated nursing workforce in Australia.

Postgraduate data were captured as new, existing and total students, by broad-band nursing specialty. As most postgraduate students are enrolled through one campus of each university (usually the metropolitan campus), postgraduate student data were unable to be analysed according to campus location. Survey respondents were also asked to provide details on the number of domestic student completions for each postgraduate broad-band specialty offered in 2001, with projections for 2002. Table 2 (see p. 26) shows the broad-band nursing specialties used to categorise postgraduate student data. Tables showing actual postgraduate domestic student numbers and completions, by State and specialty, appear in Appendix C.

Figure 24 displays the 2002 total number of university domestic postgraduate nursing students enrolled by nursing course specialty across Australia. High dependency and midwifery courses capture the largest proportion of university domestic postgraduate nursing students in Australia. Included in the midwifery enrolment statistics are 217 domestic undergraduate pre-registration and post-registration students from Victoria and South Australia who have been categorised as part of the midwifery specialisation. The pre-registration midwifery students are enrolled in three-year Bachelor of Midwifery courses which lead to registration as a midwife but not to registration as a Division 1 nurse. In the data presented in Figure 24, 101 students were enrolled in these undergraduate pre-registration midwifery courses. The remaining 116 undergraduate midwifery students were enrolled in one-year post-registration Bachelor of Midwifery courses. The post-registration midwifery courses are offered to students already registered as nurses and/or midwives.

Figure 24 Total university domestic postgraduate nursing students by broad-band nursing specialty across Australia for 2002

Note: Does not include non-university data (NSW College of Nursing).

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Figure 25 displays the university domestic postgraduate nursing student completions by broad-band nursing specialty across Australia for 2001 with projections for 2002. Consistent with the specialties capturing the largest proportion of student enrolments, high dependency and midwifery courses also have the largest number of completions over the two-year period. In addition, all specialties appear to project an increase in completions for 2002, compared with 2001. However, projected completions need to be viewed with caution as a number of factors can influence actual student completion numbers, including attrition, failures, withdrawal from units and changes in part-time and full-time status.

Figure 25 University domestic postgraduate nursing student completions by broad-band nursing specialty across Australia for 2001 with projections for 2002

Note: Does not include non-university data (NSW College of Nursing).

This data is represented with other data in Appendix C, Tables C1 and C2.

Figures 26 - 32 display the 2002 total number of domestic university postgraduate nursing students by broad-band nursing specialty for all States (except New South Wales). For most States, midwifery and/or high dependency courses capture the largest proportion of students, except in the ACT, where family and child health courses also have a large proportion of students enrolled.

Figure 26 Total domestic postgraduate nursing students by broad-band nursing specialty in Victoria for 2002

Figure 27 Total domestic postgraduate nursing students by broad-band nursing specialty in Queensland for 2002

Figure 28 Total domestic postgraduate nursing students by broad-band nursing specialty in Western Australia for 2002

Figure 29 Total domestic postgraduate nursing students by broad-band nursing specialty in South Australia for 2002

Figure 30 Total domestic postgraduate nursing students by broad-band nursing specialty in Tasmania for 2002

Figure 31 Total domestic postgraduate nursing students by broad-band nursing specialty in ACT for 2002

Figure 32 Total domestic postgraduate nursing students by broad-band nursing specialty in the Northern Territory for 2002

Figure 33 (a) displays the university domestic postgraduate nursing students by broad-band nursing specialty in New South Wales. In NSW, unlike other States, there is a non-university educational provider of postgraduate specialty nursing education (NSW College of Nursing). Data from this non-university educational provider was combined with the NSW university data and is displayed in Figure 33 (b). As shown in Figure 33 (b), the NSW College of Nursing is a significant provider of high dependency and medical/surgical specialty nursing courses in NSW. While the number of domestic students in courses in some specialty areas increased with the inclusion of the NSW College of Nursing data, the number of high dependency and medical/surgical students in NSW increased by more than 200 % when the non-university students were included.

Figure 33(a) Total university domestic postgraduate nursing students by broad-band nursing specialty in New South Wales for 2002

Note: Does not include non-university data (NSW College of Nursing).

Figure 33(b) Total university and non-university domestic postgraduate nursing students by broad-band nursing specialty in New South Wales for 2002

Figures 34 – 40 display the domestic university postgraduate nursing student completions for all States (except New South Wales) by broad-band nursing specialty. These figures compare the 2001 completions projected by Ogle et al. (2001), with the 2001 completions reported in the present study. As may be expected, most States reported lower actual completions than had been projected for 2001. A notable exception was the midwifery specialty in Western Australia (see Figure 36, p.119). For Western Australia, midwifery completions were more than double the number that had been projected for 2001. A number of factors can affect projected and actual completion numbers, including attrition, failures, withdrawal from units and changes in part-time and full-time status. Also of note is that the methodology employed in the current study differed slightly from the methodology in the Ogle et al. (2001) study, particularly in relation to broad-band specialties. Only eight of the specialty areas were common to both studies and provided direct comparisons. In addition, courses in the broad-band specialty of generic nursing were further investigated in the current study by attempting to capture specialisations hidden within generic courses. For all States, except the ACT, this may have contributed to the generally larger difference between projected and reported completions for generic courses.

Figure 34 Domestic postgraduate nursing student completions by broad-band nursing specialty in Victoria projected and reported for 2001

Figure 35 Domestic postgraduate nursing student completions by broad-band nursing specialty in Queensland projected and reported for 2001

Figure 36 Domestic postgraduate nursing student completions by broad-band nursing specialty in Western Australia projected and reported for 2001

Note: Where data is not displayed for a particular year, this indicates that either no completions were projected and/or reported or that the number of completions reported were too small to be represented.

Figure 37 Domestic postgraduate nursing student completions by broad-band nursing specialty in South Australia projected and reported for 2001

Figure 38 Domestic postgraduate nursing student completions by broad-band nursing specialty in Tasmania projected and reported for 2001

Note: Where data is not displayed for a particular year, this indicates that either no completions were projected and/or reported or that the number of completions reported were too small to be represented.

Figure 39 Domestic postgraduate nursing student completions by broad-band nursing specialty in ACT projected and reported for 2001

Note: No courses were offered in Community Health nursing.

Where data is not displayed for a particular year, this indicates that either no completions were projected and/or reported or that the number of completions reported were too small to be represented.

Figure 40 Domestic postgraduate nursing student completions by broad-band nursing specialty in the Northern Territory projected and reported for 2001

Note: No courses were offered in the specialty areas of Family and Child Health, High Dependency, Mental Health or Community Health nursing.

Where data is not displayed for a particular year, this indicates that either no completions were projected and/or reported or that the number of completions reported were too small to be represented.

Figure 41(a) displays the New South Wales university domestic postgraduate nursing student completions by broad-band nursing specialty projected for 2001 in the Ogle et al. (2001) study and reported as actual 2001 completions in the present study. Similar to the other States, only eight broad-band specialty areas were common to both studies. The New South Wales university data was combined with the New South Wales non-university data and is displayed in Figure 41(b). With the inclusion of non-university data, the high dependency specialty reported the largest number of completions for New South Wales in 2001.

Figure 41(a) University domestic postgraduate nursing student completions by broad-band nursing specialty in New South Wales projected and reported for 2001

Note: Does not include non-university data (NSW College of Nursing).

Figure 41(b) University and non-university domestic postgraduate nursing student completions by broad-band nursing specialty in New South Wales projected and reported for 2001

Figures 42 – 48 display the domestic university postgraduate nursing student completions by broad-band nursing specialty for 2001 with projections for 2002 for all States (except New South Wales). As may be expected, for most States the 2002 projected completions are higher than the reported completions for 2001. However, there are individual variations evident for different specialties, indicating projected decreases in some States. Nevertheless, projected completions need to be viewed with caution. A number of factors can affect projected completion numbers, including attrition, failures, withdrawal from units and changes in part-time and full-time status.

Figure 42 Domestic postgraduate nursing student completions by broad-band nursing specialty in Victoria for 2001 with projections for 2002

Note: No courses were offered in Indigenous Health.

Where data is not displayed for a particular year, this indicates that either no completions were projected and/or reported or that the number of completions reported were too small to be represented.

This data is represented with other data in Appendix C, Tables C1 and C2.

Figure 43 Domestic postgraduate nursing student completions by broad-band nursing specialty in Queensland for 2001 with projections for 2002

Note: No courses were offered in Indigenous Health or Rehabilitation/Habilitation. Where data is not displayed for a particular year, this indicates that either no completions were projected and/or reported or that the number of completions reported were too small to be represented.

This data is represented with other data in Appendix C, Tables C1 and C2.

Figure 44 Domestic postgraduate nursing student completions by broad-band nursing specialty in Western Australia for 2001 with projections for 2002

Note: No courses were offered in Indigenous Health, Rehabilitation/Habilitation, Management or Education.

Where data is not displayed for a particular year, this indicates that either no completions were projected and/or reported or that the number of completions reported were too small to be represented.

This data is represented with other data in Appendix C, Tables C1 and C2.

Figure 45 Domestic postgraduate nursing student completions by broad-band nursing specialty in South Australia for 2001 with projections for 2002

Note: No courses were offered in Indigenous Health.

Where data is not displayed for a particular year, this indicates that either no completions were projected and/or reported or that the number of completions reported were too small to be represented.

This data is represented with other data in Appendix C, Tables C1 and C2.

Figure 46 Domestic postgraduate nursing student completions by broad-band nursing specialty in Tasmania for 2001 with projections for 2002

Note: No courses were offered in Indigenous Health, Medical/Surgical, Rehabilitation/Habilitation, Management, Education or Generic nursing. Where data is not displayed for a particular year, this indicates that either no completions were projected and/or reported or that the number of completions reported were too small to be represented.

This data is represented with other data in Appendix C, Tables C1 and C2.

Figure 47 Domestic postgraduate nursing student completions by broad-band nursing specialty in ACT for 2001 with projections for 2002

Note: No courses were offered in Indigenous Health, Community Health, Management or Education.

Where data is not displayed for a particular year, this indicates that either no completions were projected and/or reported or that the number of completions reported were too small to be represented.

This data is represented with other data in Appendix C, Tables C1 and C2.

Figure 48 Domestic postgraduate nursing student completions by broad-band nursing specialty in the Northern Territory for 2001 with projections for 2002

Note: No courses were offered in Family and Child Health, High Dependency, Indigenous Health, Mental Health, Aged Care, Rehabilitation/Habilitation, Community Health, Management or Education.

Where data is not displayed for a particular year, this indicates that either no completions were projected and/or reported or that the number of completions reported were too small to be represented.

This data is represented with other data in Appendix C, Tables C1 and C2.

Figure 49(a) displays the New South Wales university domestic nursing student completions by broad-band nursing specialty for 2001 with projections for 2002. The combined New South Wales university and non-university data is displayed in Figure 49(b). Consistent with the other States, projected completions for 2002 are higher than the reported completions for 2001 for most specialities. With the inclusion of the non-university data, the projected 2002 completions in the specialty of high dependency increases by approximately 500 students.

Figure 49(a) University domestic postgraduate nursing student completions by broad-band nursing specialty in New South Wales for 2001 with projections for 2002

Note: Does not include non-university data (NSW College of Nursing).

Where data is not displayed for a particular year, this indicates that either no completions were projected and/or reported or that the number of completions reported were too small to be represented.

This data is represented with other data in Appendix C, Tables C1 and C2.

Figure 49(b) University and non-university domestic postgraduate nursing student completions by broad-band nursing specialty in New South Wales for 2001 with projections for 2002

Note: Where data is not displayed for a particular year, this indicates that either no completions were projected and/or reported or that the number of completions reported were too small to be represented.

This data is represented with other data in Appendix C, Tables C1, C2 and C3.

The broad-band specialty of high dependency nursing was further investigated by dividing this specialty into 11 sub-categories associated with currently designated work areas. It was intended that this would provide more meaningful data for workforce planning purposes. Where course titles did not reflect actual specialisations, universities were asked to nominate the number of students in each specialty. The sub-category High Acuity (ward) reflects courses that are designed for nurses working in the ward area. The sub-category of Cardiothoracic nursing is not displayed in Figure 50, as only one course was reported offering this specialty, and there were no students currently enrolled. Figures 50 – 54 contain the total domestic postgraduate nursing students in each broad-band high dependency sub-category for Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia and Tasmania. Northern Territory and the ACT are not represented because there are no high dependency students in the Northern Territory and the 14 students in the ACT could not be sub-categorised.

Figure 50 Total domestic postgraduate nursing students by broad-band high dependency sub-category in Victoria for 2002

Figure 51 Total domestic postgraduate nursing students by broad-band high dependency sub-category in Queensland for 2002

Figure 52 Total domestic postgraduate nursing students by broad-band high dependency sub-category in Western Australia for 2002

Figure 53 Total domestic postgraduate nursing students by broad-band high dependency sub-category in South Australia for 2002

Figure 54 Total domestic postgraduate nursing students by broad-band high dependency sub-category in Tasmania for 2002

Figure 55(a) displays the New South Wales university total domestic postgraduate nursing students in each broad-band high dependency sub-category. The combined New South Wales university and non-university data is displayed in Figure 55(b). With the inclusion of the non-university students, there is an increase in the number of sub-categories represented, as well as a significant increase in the number of students in most sub-categories.

Figure 55(a) Total university domestic postgraduate nursing students by broad-band high dependency sub-category in New South Wales for 2002

Figure 55(b) Total university and non-university domestic postgraduate nursing students by broad-band high dependency sub-category in New South Wales for 2002

Figures 56 – 60 display the domestic postgraduate nursing student completions by broad-band high dependency sub-category for 2001 with projections for 2002. Overall, the trend is that projected 2002 completions are higher than the 2001 completions. However, Victoria and South Australia project some decreases in completions for 2002 for some sub-category specialisations.

Figure 56 Domestic postgraduate nursing student completions by broad-band high dependency sub-category in Victoria for 2001 with projections for 2002

Figure 57 Domestic postgraduate nursing student completions by broad-band high dependency sub-category in Queensland for 2001 with projections for 2002

Figure 58 Domestic postgraduate nursing student completions by broad-band high dependency sub-category in Western Australia for 2001 with projections for 2002

Figure 59 Domestic postgraduate nursing student completions by broad-band high dependency sub-category in South Australia for 2001 with projections for 2002

Figure 60 Domestic postgraduate nursing student completions by broad-band high dependency sub-category in Tasmania for 2001 with projections for 2002

Figure 61(a) displays the New South Wales university domestic postgraduate nursing student completions by broad-band high dependency sub-category for 2001 with projections for 2002. The combined New South Wales university and non-university data is displayed in Figure 61(b). Overall, the university student completions for 2002 are projected to decrease, except for the sub-categories of perioperative and anaesthetics/recovery. When combined with the non-university data, most sub-categories project increases for the 2002 completions.

Figure 61(a) University domestic postgraduate nursing student completions by broad-band high dependency sub-category in New South Wales for 2001 with projections for 2002

Figure 61(b) University and non-university domestic postgraduate nursing student completions by broad-band high dependency sub-category in New South Wales for 2001 with projections for 2002

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