Charles Sturt University (CSU) provides options for the many nurses, particularly in regional and rural communities, who need to do additional study to allow them to re-enter the nursing workforce after a 10-year absence.Professor Karen Francis, Head of the CSU School of Nursing, Midwifery and Indigenous Health, says the Nurses and Midwives Board of Australia (NMBA) requirements for tightening nursing workforce re-entry criteria are first and foremost about protection of the public.
“As a former regulator of nursing, and as a consumer of health care, I believe that these measures are justified,” Professor Francis said. “This is because there is an inverse relationship between the length of time nurses are disengaged from the profession and practice, and their knowledge and skills, which obviously increases the risk to the public and their liability to any employer.
“Registered nurses who have not been employed as a nurse for less than 10 years are required to demonstrate currency of practice to re-licence for practice. This involves completing a program of study as determined by the NMBA that may include undertaking single subjects offered by an education provider, such as Charles Sturt University, that are approved by the NMBA.
“Those who are not registered and have been out of clinical practice for less than 10 years can approach the NMBA for assessment and direction on what they need to do to meet ‘currency of practice’ requirements. They can just do individual subjects, where they are available, including at CSU . But the responsibility is on the individual to sort out their training needs with the Board.”
If nurses who have not been registered or practiced as a nurse for 10 or more years, completing a pre-service nursing degree, for example the Bachelor of Nursing, is necessary.
Professor Francis says while there are a few accredited programs offered in Sydney from pre-national regulation days, few universities, if any, have developed new re-entry to practice programs.
The rationale is that individualised programs of study can be devised using pre-service education curriculum that the NMBA agree to. The responsibility, however, is on the individual nurse/midwife to make their case to the Board and then negotiate with an education provider. The Nursing and Midwifery Office NSW offers scholarships that can assist with costs.
“It is likely that all applicants would be asked to do professional issues, law, and ethics subjects, and at least one clinical practice subject, but this will vary. Costs will also vary and will depend on the length of time since the nurse’s last registration and an assessment of their ‘currency of practice’ (determined by the NMBA), and the number of subjects to study. If attending residential schools, and if clinical practice experience is required, then additional costs will be incurred.”
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