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Australian society
is a vibrant mix of people from a varied range of
ethnic and cultural backgrounds. The scale of the
place, its beaches and vast deserts, and the huge
blue sky and spectacular storms are the physical
embodiments of a country open to the world. It is
an exciting place in which to be, to learn, and
to study.
Nursing
education at graduate level is provided by the
Australian 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 no other opportunity to continue
their professional education.
Madjar, a student from the University of Newcastle,
Australia, notes that building on a strong tradition
of excellence in nursing education and scholarship
(drawn initially from Great Britain and more recently
from North America), Australian nurses are rapidly
developing a reputation for speaking with a fresh
voice. Many of the Australian nursing faculties
and departments can now boast internationally
recognised scholars, whose ideas are contributing
to the development of nursing education and strong
programs of postgraduate education.
 The various professional State Boards and Councils
are provided with insight into the scope of contemporary
nursing practice and professional boundaries in
practice. Government bodies fund research into
competency standards for advanced practice, and
analysis of the experience of beginning nurses
during their transition to the workforce. Faculty
and student research on the quality use of medicines
by nurses is another example of research impacting
policy development and the actual practices of
nurses. Through faculty work - and the work of
postgraduate students - many nursing academics
are helping to define the agenda for nursing research
and practice for the new generation of nursing.
Madjar says 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 paid to evidence-based practice. Within
research higher degree courses, the emphasis is
on development of strong methodological expertise,
as well as scholarly writing. 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 with Australian
qualifications.
In the new millennium, the Australian Council
of Deans of Nursing expects 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, leading 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 insight.
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
Dean, Faculty of Nursing
The University of Newcastle
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