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N³ET
Homepage > Work of the Taskforce > Recommendation
4
Our Duty of Care - Recommendation 4
A NATIONALLY CONSISTENT SCOPE OF PRACTICE
Contents: Progress Update 2006 | What is the this project about? | Progress | Downloads | Contact Progress Update 200612 July 2006 N³ET Position Statement - A National Professional Practice Framework: An alternative to a National Decision Making Framework The National Nursing and Nursing Education Taskforce (N³ET) mandate is to drive reform to position nursing and midwifery for the future. This involves challenging conventions and traditional ways of thinking about professional practice, regulation, and the role of nurses and midwives in the delivery of health services. At this juncture, the nursing and midwifery professions have a timely opportunity to take stock of what it means to provide professional health services in a dynamic and changing environment. Developing a comprehensive, integrated and rational approach to practice regulation, that fits with the national objective of developing an flexible and responsive health workforce, is critical. This Position Statement clarifies the N³ET position on scope of practice Decision Making Frameworks (DMFs) and puts forward 10 principles it believes are central to all DMFs for nurses and midwives, irrespective of where they are developed or implemented. The Position Statement also promotes a national professional practice framework, as an alternative approach, to plan, enable and sustain safe and competent practice by nurses and midwives, whatever that practice may be in the future. For a copy of the Position Statement, please click the link below:
22 June 2006 Legislation and Regulation of Nursing and Midwifery Practice in Australia - Round Table Discussion Meeting - Melbourne, VIC The N³ET Round Table was attended by representatives from the nursing and midwifery regulatory authorities, the State and Territory Chief Nurses, the Australian Nursing & Midwifery Council, the Australian Health Workforce Officials Committee (AHWOC), the AHWOC Regulation Sub-Committee, and the N³ET. The Round Table was facilitated by Mr John Ramsay. The Round Table discussion on the day was vigorous, the level of consensus on a number of key issues is remarkable and signifies that there is widespread support for a reform agenda aimed at bringing greater national consistency to the regulation of nursing and midwifery. Specifically, as a result of the Round Table, there was agreement 'in principle' on seven key points:
Towards Consistent Regulation of Nursing and Midwifery: A selective analysis of the legislation and professional regulation of nursing and midwifery in Australia (2006) The Legislation and Professional Regulation of Nursing and Midwifery in Australia Project was commissioned by the Taskforce in November 2005 as a crucial activity required to inform the broader program of work being undertaken by the Taskforce, including activities identified as Priority Action Areas on the N³ET Blueprint for National Action. This report provides an overview of the extensive mapping activity undertaken for the project and provides a contemporary analysis of the similarities and differences in legislation and policy that supports particular aspects of the professional regulation of nurses and midwives in each of the jurisdictions in Australia. The report is intended to prompt and promote consideration of opportunities for achieving greater national consistency in these matters, both through legislation reform and through a national approach to professional regulation by nursing and midwifery regulatory authorities (RAs). There is little doubt that there are already many similarities, however the differences clearly matter and this Report primarily concentrates on those differences.
Atlas of the Legislation & Professional Regulation of Nursing & Midwifery in Australia The Atlas of Legislation and Professional Regulation of Nursing and Midwifery in Australia has been developed to support the work of the Taskforce and Alliance partners on Priority Action Areas identified in the Blueprint for National Action. The Maps focus on the areas of regulation that are pivotal to influencing the practice of nurses and midwives and highlight the inconsistencies that exist within the current regulatory frameworks in the States and Territories for nurses and midwives wishing to practise in Australia. The Atlas contains eight maps focusing on key areas of inquiry for the Taskforce. Each map has a title that indicates the focus of the map. Information in the maps is colour coded to denote the source of information:
Citations to source documents are incorporated in the maps and the Reference List is included at the end of each map. As there is substantial detail in the maps, to avoid repetition, cross-referencing is used and where possible, links are provided in the electronic version. Table of Contents:
Map 4: Application by Qualified Nurse or Midwife for Registration or Enrolment not Currently Registered or Enrolled in any Australian, State, Territory or New Zealand
Map 10: Managing Reports or Complaints about Breaches of Standards of Practice Map 4 and 10 are not yet available
What is this project about?The National Review of Nursing Education Australia (2002) Our Duty of Care underpinned Recommendation 4 with a strong argument that consistency in scopes of practice for nurses and midwives would contribute to achieving consistent standards of care and quality health outcomes for the Australian public. Furthermore, consistency would facilitate mutual recognition of nurses’ and midwives’ qualifications, and would contribute to a more mobile and responsive nursing workforce. These goals are consistent with the vision and goals outlined in the National Health Workforce Strategic Framework (Australian Health Ministers' Conference, 2004), which has highlighted a strong need to consider nursing and nurses’ scopes of practice in the context of the national health workforce. National consistency is central to the work of the Taskforce as it intersects with and underpins a number of other pieces of work, including Recommendations 5 and Recommendation 12. In addition, considerable work in related areas is also being undertaken by the jurisdictions, and other stakeholders. Therefore, strong partnerships and coordination are fundamental to ensure that the work progresses in structured and coordinated way. The objective of this project is to promote nationally consistent scopes of practice for registered nurses, enrolled nurses, nurse practitioners (and other categories of nurse with protected title) and midwives by formulating a framework for:
To achieve this, the Taskforce is working with key stakeholders to develop a harmonised understanding of scopes of practice, to identify the challenges and map the way forward.
Progress
This is a challenging and complex piece of work for the Taskforce as each of the States and Territories has its own legislation and regulatory framework. While there are many consistencies in the way nurses and midwives are regulated, there are also many differences that impact on the mobility and flexibility of the nursing/midwifery workforce. The overall objective of our work is to bring greater national consistency to elements of nursing and midwifery regulation, education and practice, thereby promoting a flexible, diverse and responsive nursing and midwifery workforce, which is adequately prepared and enabled to meet the challenges of providing health services to the Australian public now and as we move into the future. Our aim is to position nurses and midwives to make a valuable contribution to health service and the health of Australians as we move into the future.
The Alliance has a vital role in providing direction for the work, and for providing a mechanism for coordinating at a high level, complex activities involving a range of stakeholders, and with major implications for the provision of nursing and midwifery services.
Downloads
For more information on this project, please contact: Dr Christine Breakwell |
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A jointly funded initiative by State/Territories and Commonwealth Departments of Health and Education. This page was authorised by the National Nursing & Nursing Education Taskforce |
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This page was last updated
September 13, 2006
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