Nurse education in Australia: Part 12

By Lucy Osborn MACN (ENL) ACN Next Generation Community of Interest Chair and author of The Scrubs that Fit NurseClick column 5 predictions for the future Nurse education in Australia has changed completely over the years, as you have seen through this amazing collection of articles. However, I believe we are yet to plateau. Sure,…

Nurse education in Australia: Part 11

By Trish Lowe MACN – ACN Nurse Educator Nursing speciality organisations, practice standards and benchmarking. The emergence of nursing specialty organisations began at a State level in Australia in the 1950’s, before expanding to either national governing bodies or affiliate organisations in the 1970s and 80s (Pratt, 1994). Nursing specialty organisations had evolved in response…

Nurse education in Australia: Part 10

By Trish Lowe MACN – ACN Nurse Educator National Law (2009) and mandatory registration standards In 2005, the Council of Australian Governments [COAG] published the findings of a report by the Productivity Commission which detailed the challenges faced by Australia’s health system (Katsikitis et al. 2013). It highlighted the pressures arising from Australia’s ageing population,…

Nurse education in Australia: Part 9

By Trish Lowe MACN – ACN Nurse Educator The introduction of post basic research degrees and the emergence of non-clinical roles Throughout this series, the contributions to healthcare reform, made by economic and social change, establishment of Nursing Colleges and transition to tertiary education for nurses and midwives, have been highlighted. Predictably, these moves promoted-…

Historic Quadrant Building at University of Sydney

Nurse education in Australia: Part 8

The historic Quadrant Building at the University of Sydney By Trish Lowe MACN – ACN Nurse Educator Move towards tertiary education for Australian nurses- mid 1980s As previously discussed in this series, Australian nurses were originally trained in public hospitals, under an apprenticeship system. During the early 1900’s, The Australasian Trained Nurses’ Association (ATNA) established the minimum standards of clinical and theoretical knowledge required to be delivered…

Nurse education in Australia: Part 7

By Trish Lowe MACN – ACN Nurse Educator The first Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nurses This article contains stories of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People who have passed away. The author has taken great care to ensure the information provided is as correct and accurate as possible. The colonisation and settlement of Australia led…

Nurse education in Australia: Part 6

First office of the NSW College of Nursing at Macquarie Street Sydney. Credit: ACN Archives   By Trish Lowe MACN – ACN Nurse Educator Specialty post-graduate education and the establishment of nursing Colleges. Discussions regarding the need for nursing to emulate health professionals- such as dentists and pharmacists- by now transitioning their education to the…

Australian War Memorial in Canberra

Nurse education in Australia: Part 5

By Trish Lowe MACN – ACN Nurse Educator The impact of military service and the emergence of nurse leaders At the commencement of the South African (Boer) War (1899-1902), Australian women responded to the New South Wales and Victorian government requests for a nursing detachment to serve alongside Australian troops (Bessant 1999; Department of Defence,…

Nurse education in Australia: Part 4

By Trish Lowe MACN – ACN Nurse Educator The introduction of statutory acts formalising nurse registration and training Throughout the 20th century’s first decades, various states and countries within the British Commonwealth presented Bills seeking nurse registration to Parliament. In some cases (e.g. New Zealand and Queensland (QLD)) this happened quickly and easily. In other…

History of nurse education in Australia part 3

Nurse education in Australia: Part 3

By Trish Lowe MACN – ACN Nurse Educator The Australasian Trained Nurses Association 1899 By the latter part of the 19th century, nursing was considered a respectable career option for educated women. In response to the rapidly growing population and advances in medical practice, health care provision progressively transitioned from home-based settings, to hospitals. This…