CoNNO Undergraduate Nursing Education in Australia

This position statement has been prepared by the Coalition of National Nursing Organisations (CoNNO), a coalition of more than 50 national nursing organisations that represent the nursing profession and its many areas of specialist practice.
 
The CoNNO supports a rigorous scholarly educational preparation for registered nurses based on evidence and research to meet the complexity of care demands of Australia’s health and aged care sectors. The current environment of health care reforms calls for nurses who are educationally prepared to a level of competence which not only meets the regulatory requirements for protection of the public (ANMC, 2008), but more critically, can accommodate the challenges of rapid advances in knowledge and technology for care delivery. The university-based* bachelor degree program for registered nurses achieves this level of professional development, and inter-
professional parity and equity of education standard. 

 
It is the position of the Coalition of National Nursing Organisations that:
 
The minimum level qualification for entry to practice for registered nurses be a university-based bachelor degree program, with a minimum length equivalent to six full- time semesters (Commonwealth of Australia, 2002). 
 
University schools of nursing have an ethical commitment to students, and a professional commitment to the community, to maintain entry standards which will lead to protection of the credibility of the education process as well as standards of the discipline of nursing (AVCC, 2005).
 
As rationale for the CoNNO position, four areas have been identified as essential to retaining university-based undergraduate nursing education programs in Australia, namely: academic enquiry, professional competencies, inter-professional education, and academic scholarship. 
 
Academic enquiry

  • Universities offer undergraduate Bachelor of Nursing courses which prepare registered nurses for the high level critical thinking, problem solving, evidence based and  reflective practice that leads to improved health outcomes for our community (RCNA, 2007)
  • Nursing is a complex and demanding profession that requires an educationalgrounding in ethical, legal and evidence based concepts and practice
  •  Nursing practice should be evidence based as this contributes to the safety, quality and cost effectiveness of nursing care for individuals, groups and communities using health and/or aged care services 
  • Universities provide an environment of academic enquiry based on a tradition for encouraging research and investigation of ideas and practices (CDNM, 2007)

Professional competencies

  • The national competency standards developed by the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Council indicate the need for registered nurses to be able to think critically about client care, to have the skills to contribute to the evidence-based practice framework for nursing through research, and to apply research to their practice (ANMC, 2008)
  • Undergraduate students need to meet a range of professional standards required for registration across the four domains of: professional practice; critical thinking and analysis; provision and coordination of care; and collaborative and therapeutic practice (ANMC, 2008)
  • Staffing levels and skills mix in clinical placement facilities must be adequate for nurse clinicians to assist students to optimise their learning experience. Formal mechanisms to support dialogue, interaction and the development of collaborative arrangements between the health and education sectors, including research, should continue to be developed and strengthened (ANF, 2007).

 
Inter-professional education

  • The university environment provides for comparability of education for nurses with other health professionals whom they must work alongside (RCNA, 2007)
  • The delivery of nursing education in the university sector allows the opportunity for important collaborations to occur across the health professions 
  • Inter-disciplinary learning makes an important contribution to professional learning and subsequent inter-professional practice by health professionals

 
Academic Scholarship

  •  In line with international approaches, Australian universities have strong links between teaching and research (Commonwealth of Australia, 2008)
  • Universities recruit qualified staff at the highest professional levels who must meet extensive educational requirements to ensure that their scholarship and pedagogical enquiry continues to inform the teaching and learning offered (NLN, 2003; CDNM, 2007)
  • Research activities of nurse academics inform the body of knowledge on which nursing practice is based to give assurance to the public of safe, competent care

 
References:
Australian Nursing and Midwifery Council (ANMC). 2008. Position Statement, Registered Nurse and Midwife
Education in Australia. Available from ANMC Website: www.anmc.org.au
Australian Nursing Federation (ANF), 2007. ANF policy statement, Nursing education: registered nurse.
Available from ANF Website: www.anf.org.au 
Australian Vice-Chancellors’ Committee (AVCC). 2005. Universities and their Students: Principles for the
Provision of Education by Australian Universities. Available from Universities Australia Website:
http://www.universitiesaustralia.edu.au/documents/publications/policy/statements/Principles_final_Aug2005.pdf
Commonwealth of Australia. 2002. National Review of Nursing Education: Our Duty of Care Report.  Available
from the DEST Website: http://www.dest.gov.au/archive/highered/nursing/pubs/duty_of_care/default.html
Commonwealth of Australia. 2008. Review of Australian Higher Education: Final Report. (Bradley Report).
Available from DEEWR Website: www.deewr.gov.au/he_review_finalreport
Council of Deans of Nursing & Midwifery (CDNM) (Australia & New Zealand). 2007. CDNM (ANZ) Position
Statement on Bachelor of Nursing degrees in TAFE. Available from CDNM (ANZ) Website: www.cdnm.edu.au
National League for Nursing (NLN). 2003. Position Statement, Innovation in Nursing Education: A call to reform.
Available from NLN Website: www.nln.org
Royal College of Nursing, Australia (RCNA). 2007. Communiqué from the Board of Directors, Undergraduate
Nursing Education. Available from RCNA Website: www.rcna.org.au
 
This position statement reflects the views of the Coalition of National Nursing Organisations, but not necessarily the full or particular
views of all of its member bodies.
 
 
Endorsed October 2009