In this submission, ANF addresses its concerns to the Nurses Board of Victoria in the context of the role we understand that the NBV must play, subject to its powers, under the Health Professions Registration Act 2005, and in the context of the Council of Australian Governments' agreement to move the registration and accreditation of health professionals, to a national system by 2010.
In summary, ANF has four major concerns regarding conducting the Bachelor of Nursing in institutions other than the university sector:
- That the approval by the NBV of the Holmesglen (or any other TAFE provider) Bachelor course will have an immediate adverse impact on the supply of registered nurses into the Victorian health workforce.
- That the approval of this course will, in the medium to long term, adversely impact on the recruitment and retention of registered nurses within the Victorian health workforce.
- That with the imminent move to national accreditation of nursing courses in Australia, this course may not meet the criteria for accreditation.
- That graduates from this course may not have the required education nor educational environment to meet the demanding complex needs of the future nursing workforce in Victoria.
