The Australian College of Nursing (ACN) has incorporated feedback from its frontline nursing members in its response to the latest consultation on the National Nursing Workforce Strategy.
ACN CEO, Adjunct Professor Kylie Ward, expressed support for the development of the strategy, emphasising the importance of a national approach to nursing policy that addresses the challenges and opportunities faced by the nursing workforce.
“We believe that this strategy is vital for ensuring that nurses can work to their full scope of practice and deliver person-centred, evidence-based, and compassionate care to Australian communities across all sectors and settings,” Adjunct Professor Ward said.
“As the largest health profession in Australia, comprising over 40 per cent of the health workforce, nurses play a key role in meeting the population’s diverse and complex health and aged care needs.
“Nurses provide high-quality care and perform key functions across metropolitan, regional, rural, and remote areas, as well as in emerging and innovative models of care. Nurses also contribute to health promotion, prevention, education, research, and leadership. But the nursing workforce faces significant challenges that require a coordinated and collaborative response from all stakeholders, including governments, regulators, educators, employers, professional bodies, unions, and, most importantly, nurses themselves.
“We have participated in the consultation process, including face-to-face workshops, webinars, and surveys. We have shared our insights, experiences, perspectives, and recommendations on addressing the nursing workforce issues and identifying opportunities for improvement.
“We look forward to seeing the final outcome of the National Nursing Workforce Strategy, and we will collaborate with all stakeholders to implement the actions and recommendations.
“We believe that this strategy will be a landmark achievement for the nursing profession. We believe it will be a catalyst for positive change and innovation.
“We hope this strategy will inspire and empower nurses to shape health and advance nursing – and healthcare more broadly – for the benefit of all Australians,” Adjunct Professor Ward said.
The ACN response provides recommendations in the following areas:
- The growing need in aged care services
- The regional, rural, and remote nursing workforce
- Cultural safety
- First Nations nurses
- Career pathways and specialisation
- Nurses’ health and wellbeing
- Building nurses’ research capacity
- Recruitment and retention
- The future of nursing in Australia
- A workforce that thrives on a positive culture, empowered by accomplished leaders fully supporting their nurse workforce
- Delivering person-centred care
- Nurses working to their optimum scope of practice
- Technology drives a different workforce and health service
- Education and lifelong learning that provides high-quality skills
- Career pathways that are globally aligned, nationally recognised, and provide structured progress
- Nursing leadership and management.
The ACN response to the National Workforce Strategy can be found here.
