October 2004

Action not words

The National Nursing and Nursing Education Review was released just over two years ago to great fanfare, but what has happened since then?
Have sufficient measures been put in place to prepare for the exodus of nurses when 40% of the nursing workforce (who are 45 or older) retire in the next 10-15 years?

There have been small increases in the number of nursing places in both the higher education and vocational education areas, but nowhere near the number identified in both the National Review of Nursing Education and the Review of Pricing Arrangements in Residential Aged Care.

In the latter report, Professor Hogan recommended increasing the number of nursing places in universities by 2,700 over the next three years, starting with 1,000 places in 2005. Yet the Australian Government announced only an additional 400 places for 2005 in the 2004/05 Budget, rising to 1,094 over 4 years.

The National Review of Nursing Education recommended 800 additional places by 2004, but only 210 places were allocated in that budget round.

However you analyse these figures, there will be a significant shortfall when nearly half the nursing workforce retires in the next 10-15 years.

In addition to the shortfall, is the disappointing decision by the University of Sydney to close its nursing school and transfer places to the University of Technology, Sydney and the Australian Catholic University.

Sydney University has been renowned for its innovative programs aimed at encouraging Indigenous Australians to choose nursing as a career and to improve the nursing care available to Indigenous Australians.

The Australian Government must take responsibility for the state we are in - universities are making decisions about the courses they run based on the money they can raise. Where does that leave courses for nurses and teachers, where there is no scope for universities to raise revenue through increasing course fees?

The ANF, as part of its claims in the lead up to the federal election, is calling for an additional 1,100 fully funded HECS places in university undergraduate nursing programs each year for the next four years.

Despite the evidence that urgent action is needed, little has changed since the release of the review. The National Nursing and Nursing Education Taskforce has been established and the taskforce's communication strategy is in place, but there is little to report as the Australian Health Ministers Advisory Council is yet to sign off on the taskforce's work plan. (To keep an eye on the work of the taskforce, visit their website at www.nnnet.gov.au.)

The slow bureaucratic wheels are frustrating for nurses as are waiting for some real action to take place.


Victoria Gilmore
Federal Professional Officer