Nurse Education

Australian society is a vibrant mix of people from a most varied range of ethnic and cultural backgrounds. The scale of the place; its beaches; the vast deserts; the huge blue sky; the spectacular storms, are the physical embodiments of a country that is open to the world and an exciting place to be, to learn and to study.

Nurse education at graduate level is provided by the universities in a variety of modes; to full time students; by part time study; by distance education without requiring frequent attendance on a campus; and to nurses in remote areas who have not other opportunities of continuing their professional education.

Professor Madjar, from the University of Newcastle, Australia, noted that building on a strong tradition of excellence in nursing education and scholarship drawn initially from Great Britain and in more recent decades from North America, Australian nurses are rapidly developing a reputation for speaking with a fresh voice. Many of the Australian nursing faculties and departments, she said, can now boast internationally recognised scholars, whose ideas are contributing to the development of nursing knowledge and strong programs of postgraduate education.

Margaret McMillan, the Dean of the Faculty of Nursing, has led teams which have provided the various professional State Boards and Councils with insight into the scope of contemporary nursing practice and professional boundaries in practice. Government bodies have funded research by the University of Newcastle, Faculty of Nursing into competency standards for advanced practice and an analysis of the experience of beginning nurses during their transition to the workforce. Professors Irene Stein and Helen Baker's research with a multidisciplinary team on the quality use of medicines by nurses is another example of research impacting on policy development and the actual practices of nurses. Stein has a particular interest in nursing initiatives in the care of the elderly in society.

Professor Megan-Jane Johnson's incisive work in ethics and law related to nursing practice, Professor Jocalyn Lawler's revealing writings on the body and its place in nursing, Professor Rhonda Nay's challenging work on the care of the older members of our society, and Irena Madjar's and Jo Ann Walton's recent phenomenological work on nursing and the experience of illness are just some examples of Australian nursing scholarship which is being recognised internationally. Through their own work and that of their postgraduate students, these and other nursing academics are helping to define the agenda for nursing research and practice for the new generation of nurses.

Madjar said that while research is clearly the cornerstone of postgraduate nursing education, nursing programs in Australia tend to offer a wide range of courses, from clinically focused Graduate Certificates and Diplomas to Professional Doctorates and PhDs. The coursework components emphasise development and application of up-to-date clinical skills and knowledge, with increasing attention being paid to evidence based practice. Within research higher degree courses the emphasis is on development of strong methodological expertise as well as scholarly writing. The very strong interest in qualitative methods was featured at the 5th International Qualitative Health Research Conference hosted by the Faculty of Nursing at the University of Newcastle, NSW, in April 1999. This was the first time that this large international and interdisciplinary conference was held in the Southern Hemisphere.

An important field of action for the schools and faculties is provision of nurse education at university level to nursing students overseas. In Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and the Pacific nations there are now hundreds of indigenous nurses who have Australian qualifications.

The Australian Council of Deans of Nursing expects all these activities to intensify. As nursing becomes more complex and advanced, so will the initial professional preparation of nurses. Specialisms will increase in sophistication and in number; this will lead to greater demands for postgraduate courses. As communication technology develops further, the opportunities for provision of courses away from campuses and into remote areas will increase and become more effective. Research into nursing issues will grow in quantity and depth; every expansion of knowledge enlarges the perimeter of the known, the extent of the unknown and the need for further insights.

The provision of nurse education beyond Australia's shores will continue as long as other countries feel the need for it and Australia retains and increases its reputation for nursing of the highest quality - a reputation which depends not only on professional knowledge and formal education but also on the personal attributes of the nurses. An area which needs to expand in Australia, and which the Council is committed to expanding, is the education of nurses to work with the variety of cultures in this country, not simply within the majority culture.

Author:

Margaret McMillan
BA, M Curr St(Hons), Dip N Ed PhD, FCN, FCNA, RN
Dean, Faculty of Nursing
The University of Newcastle

Nurse Education
Australian society is a vibrant mix of people from a most varied range of ethnic and cultural backgrounds. The scale of the place; its beaches; the vast deserts; the huge blue sky; the spectacular storms, are the physical embodiments of a country that is open to the world and an exciting place to be, to learn and to study. Nurse education at graduate level is provided by the universities in a variety of modes; to full time students; by part time study; by distance education without requiring frequent attendance on a campus; and to nurses in remote areas who have not other opportunities of continuing their professional education. Professor Madjar, from the University of Newcastle, Australia, noted that building on a strong tradition of excellence in nursing education and scholarship drawn initially from Great Britain and in more recent decades from North America, Australian nurses are rapidly developing a reputation for speaking with a fresh voice. Many of the Australian nursing faculties and departments, she said, can now boast internationally recognised scholars, whose ideas are contributing to the development of nursing knowledge and strong programs of postgraduate education. Margaret McMillan, the Dean of the Faculty of Nursing, has led teams which have provided the various professional State Boards and Councils with insight into the scope of contemporary nursing practice and professional boundaries in practice. Government bodies have funded research by the University of Newcastle, Faculty of Nursing into competency standards for advanced practice and an analysis of the experience of beginning nurses during their transition to the workforce. Professors Irene Stein and Helen Baker's research with a multidisciplinary team on the quality use of medicines by nurses is another example of research impacting on policy development and the actual practices of nurses. Stein has a particular interest in nursing initiatives in the care of the elderly in society. Professor Megan-Jane Johnson's incisive work in ethics and law related to nursing practice, Professor Jocalyn Lawler's revealing writings on the body and its place in nursing, Professor Rhonda Nay's challenging work on the care of the older members of our society, and Irena Madjar's and Jo Ann Walton's recent phenomenological work on nursing and the experience of illness are just some examples of Australian nursing scholarship which is being recognised internationally. Through their own work and that of their postgraduate students, these and other nursing academics are helping to define the agenda for nursing research and practice for the new generation of nurses. Madjar said that while research is clearly the cornerstone of postgraduate nursing education, nursing programs in Australia tend to offer a wide range of courses, from clinically focused Graduate Certificates and Diplomas to Professional Doctorates and PhDs. The coursework components emphasise development and application of up-to-date clinical skills and knowledge, with increasing attention being paid to evidence based practice. Within research higher degree courses the emphasis is on development of strong methodological expertise as well as scholarly writing. The very strong interest in qualitative methods was featured at the 5th International Qualitative Health Research Conference hosted by the Faculty of Nursing at the University of Newcastle, NSW, in April 1999. This was the first time that this large international and interdisciplinary conference was held in the Southern Hemisphere. An important field of action for the schools and faculties is provision of nurse education at university level to nursing students overseas. In Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and the Pacific nations there are now hundreds of indigenous nurses who have Australian qualifications. The Australian Council of Deans of Nursing expects all these activities to intensify. As nursing becomes more complex and advanced, so will the initial professional preparation of nurses. Specialisms will increase in sophistication and in number; this will lead to greater demands for postgraduate courses. As communication technology develops further, the opportunities for provision of courses away from campuses and into remote areas will increase and become more effective. Research into nursing issues will grow in quantity and depth; every expansion of knowledge enlarges the perimeter of the known, the extent of the unknown and the need for further insights. The provision of nurse education beyond Australia's shores will continue as long as other countries feel the need for it and Australia retains and increases its reputation for nursing of the highest quality - a reputation which depends not only on professional knowledge and formal education but also on the personal attributes of the nurses. An area which needs to expand in Australia, and which the Council is committed to expanding, is the education of nurses to work with the variety of cultures in this country, not simply within the majority culture. Author: Margaret McMillan BA, M Curr St(Hons), Dip N Ed PhD, FCN, FCNA, RN Dean, Faculty of Nursing The University of Newcastle