Elsevier

Collegian

Volume 20, Issue 4, December 2013, Pages 233-238
Collegian

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

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.colegn.2012.09.003Get rights and content

Abstract

An ageing Australian population coupled with declining nursing numbers is predicted to have a significant impact on the Australian Healthcare industry, with numbers of nurses expected to be in greater demand at a time when the need for nursing care is on the rise. The report released recently by Health Workforce Australia predicted a potential shortage of approximately 110,000 nurses by 2025. In Queensland alone, the Queensland Nursing Union estimates the shortage of nurses to be closer to 10,000 positions by 2016 and 14,000 positions by 2020 based on the anticipated Queensland Health hospital expansions. The Commonwealth Government has responded by increasing funding to train more registered nurses across Australia. Hence a significant number of graduate registered nurses are expected and required to join the workforce. However, an analysis of the literature reveals that opinions differ between clinicians and education providers as to whether recently graduated registered nurses are adequately prepared for the challenges of the current healthcare system. Even though much research has been done in Australia on the issue of transition support programmes, graduate registered nurses’ transition to practice remains problematic and is perceived to pose a significant challenge to healthcare industry. This paper contributes to the contemporary discourse on graduate registered nurses’ practice readiness at a time when a forecasted nursing shortage, the difficulties in accessing sufficient quality clinical placements and the need for fiscal responsibility pose added challenges to education providers and the healthcare industry.

Section snippets

Background

The combined impact of a predicted nursing workforce shortage and the growing health care demands of an ageing Australian population ‘who will consume larger numbers of healthcare services, compounded by … an increasing prevalence of chronic conditions’ pose significant challenges for Australian authorities (Health Workforce Australia [HWA], 2012, p. 35). Consequent to these challenges, the Australian health system is undergoing reform with the Commonwealth Government signing a national health

History of nurse education in Australia

Prior to the mid 1980s Australian nurses ‘trained’ within hospitals in apprenticeship style programmes (McGrath ‘et al.’, 2006). 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). Nurse

International trends regarding nurse education

The transfer of nursing education to the tertiary sector in Australia is consistent with international efforts to enhance the educational qualifications for RNs. Several North American and European studies, reports and position statements (CNA, 2004, Cowan et al., 2007, Lofmark et al., 2006, UKCC, 1986) have recognised that higher levels of education i.e. BN programmes, were regarded positively and were expected to deliver better nursing performance and improved levels of critical thinking and

The concept of practice readiness

Prior to transferring Australian nurse education to the tertiary sector, student nurses were recruited directly by hospitals where they usually resided (in nurse's quarters) and also undertook their training there in an apprenticeship model (Mannix et al., 2009). According to Mannix, Wilkes, and Luck (2009, p. 60), these student nurses ‘grew to know the ways and the idiosyncrasies of their training hospitals … and were accepted as being an integral part of hospital life and central to the

Discussion

As highlighted earlier, the literature is suggestive of a tension between industry and education providers with regard to GRNs’ practice readiness. Despite the fact that much research has been done in Australia since the transfer of nursing education to the tertiary sector regarding GRN transition and their preparedness for the challenges of the current healthcare system, to date, the transition process from student to RN role remains problematic.

Australian universities formulate their BN

Conclusion

What is known is that graduate RNs’ transition to practice remains problematic and a topic of much discourse. The literature suggests that there is a tension between health industry and education providers in Australia with regards to the expectation of graduate RNs’ practice readiness. The current forecasted nursing shortage, the challenges in accessing sufficient quality clinical placements and the need for fiscal responsibility highlight the significance of this debate. In the interest of

Conflict of interest

This discussion paper does not concern any commercial product, either directly or indirectly.

Sources of outside support for research

Nil.

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