Nurse education in Australian universities in a period of change: expectations of nurse academics for the year 2005

Abstract

In Australia, the education of nurses in the academic arena now has a decade of history which arguably represents advancement of the nursing discipline. Until the conduct of the study which is the subject of this report, however, expectations for the next decade were unknown. In order to provide information concerning the future of nursing education and related professional and social factors, and entire population of nurse academics in Australia was surveyed. Findings indicate that although advances have been made, there are a number of concerns regarding the rate of disciplinary development. These include parity of status with other academic areas, resource issues, the workload of nurse academics and the perception that there is lack of cohesiveness amongst nurses as a professional group.

Graduate registered nurse practice readiness in the Australian context: An issue worthy of discussion

“…In this preparatory model, the needs of the training hospital took precedence over the educational needs of students (Sellers & Deans, 1999). After decades of lobbying by Australian nurse leaders, the commonwealth government authorised the transfer of nurse education en masse from the health sector to the tertiary sector in 1985 (Sellers & Deans, 1999).…”

“…This major nursing education reform confirmed the significance of tertiary education in raising the professional status of nursing and recognising nursing as a profession. A national survey undertaken by Sellers and Deans (1999) a decade after the transfer of nursing education to the tertiary sector, revealed that most Australian academics believed that nurse preparation would not revert back to hospital-based training in Australia and that workforce requirement rather than disciplinary development and academic standards would be the drivers of nursing curricula.…”

Mapping Nursing Pathways

“…From the late 1970s, registered nurses commenced education in the tertiary sector with an initial qualification of Diploma, eventually becoming a baccalaureate qualification in the late 1980s (Russell, 1990). This move recognized the tension between the needs of the training hospital to provide patient care and the educational needs of the student nurse (Sellers & Deans, 1999). Changes in health technology and knowledge, consumer expectations, and evolving standards of nursing practice also fed the impetus for this change (Lindeman, 2000;National Nursing and Nursing Education Taskforce, 2006).…”

Nurse practitioners in academic nurse managed centres: A new and emergent opportunity for Australian nurses

“…7 Although the benefits of faculty practice are widely espoused, [8][9][10][11] Australian universities have been slow to establish practice environments and opportunities for nurse academics. 12 It has been said that ''faculty prac-tice has all but disappeared'' from Australian higher education, 5 with academic nursing practice minimal 5 and often problematic. 12 However with any challenge, new opportunities and innovative solutions to the challenge arise.…”