Flexible nursing program unique to UNE

May 14, 2007

The University of New England has launched a new version of its Bachelor of Nursing program which – uniquely in Australia – will qualify students to work as Enrolled Nurses after their first two years of study, as well as Registered Nurses at the completion of the three-year degree course.

During the official launch of the program on Friday 11 May, the Vice-Chancellor of UNE, Professor Alan Pettigrew, said this unique flexibility was in tune with Federal Government policy aimed at creating greater "differentiation" among universities. "There's no other nursing course like this," Professor Pettigrew said.

The course coordinator, Jan Brown from UNE's School of Health, explained that unqualified people entering the program could either complete the three years of study and gain a Bachelor of Nursing degree and eligibility for Registered Nurse status, or graduate with an Advanced Diploma in Nursing (and Enrolled Nurse status) after two years. Diploma graduates could, when they wished, return to UNE to upgrade their diploma to a degree, she said.

"This responds to the needs of those prospective students who find a three-year course prohibitive," Ms Brown said. "It also allows students completing the degree program to earn money and gain experience by working as Enrolled Nurses – during term breaks – in their third year."

The new program has flexible entry as well as exit points: TAFE-qualified Enrolled Nurses will be able to go straight in to the second year, enabling them to gain the Bachelor of Nursing degree and qualify as Registered Nurses after two years of study.

Development of the program over the past two years has involved detailed documentation by a team of three UNE Nursing lecturers: Dr Glenda Parmenter, Dr Penny Paliadelis, and Jackie Lea. "We had input from the whole Nursing team at UNE," Dr Parmenter said, "and we had lots of input from local clinicians , who advised us on innovative measures to address the shortage of nurses.

"We went to Sydney to defend the program in front of a 20-strong committee of the Nurses and Midwives Board. The Board awarded it the maximum accreditation of six years."

"This innovative program recognises the individual nurse as an adult learner," said Chris Coombs (pictured here), the Director of Nursing at Tamworth Hospital (and an Adjunct Professor at UNE). "It will support nurses' learning needs and thus enhance nursing care. And I believe, as an employer, that it will increase the retention of nurses across the workforce."

Another speaker at the launch, Sue Dennison, Nurse Practitioner for Nundle Community Health (and an Adjunct Senior Lecturer at UNE), said today's nursing graduates were facing many changes, including a more multicultural environment and multidisciplinary approach to health care. "What UNE is doing to help nurses cope with the future is exciting," she said.

THE PHOTOGRAPH of Chris Coombs (Director of Nursing at Tamworth Hospital) displayed here expands to include Tim Godwin, a second-year Nursing student at UNE. It was taken at last Friday's launch of the new Nursing program.

Posted by Jim Scanlan at May 14, 2007 05:51 PM