regression to hospital based nursing

Sounds like a plan from someone who is not up to date on all the details of modern nursing, modern medicine or modern malpractice.

Some students may take advantage of the "pay" option though.

He seems to mean well, but the plan is very 1970's.

Just an initial reaction and thought, by "dumbing down" (less education) the profession means less pay and cost to the government. Is it that simple?

Well there's the cheap labor in the form of students.


I don't care for this idea. This is the second article in as many weeks I've read from Australia which spurns nursing university education in Australia. They always want to put it off on the nursing shortage. I wonder who is pushing this idea?

Politrickians as we call them back home!

I really, honestly think Howard is losing his marbles, one at a time. Maybe the Chaser guys blew his fuses somewhere. This reeks of desperation, lack of forethought and just plain powergrubbing. He keeps coming out with these odd statements and plans: did you see that he has changed his mind and now decided that he definitely will serve a full term if voted in again?

I think this is a terrible idea, and detracts from the professionalism we are struggling to achieve within nursing in Australia. I am currently studying a postgrad course which included a subject dealing with the future of advanced practice nursing in Australia. How will advanced practice nursing go under this scheme? Will we be reducing the education levels required for NPs, CNS, CNC etc? Or will we do away with those positions altogether and return to the days of the matron?

I am vehemently opposed to this plan.

I went to such a program in Canada back in 1968....in our second year, we staffed the hospitals on night shift, then went to school during the day. (Heaven help the patients).The third year was all work, with one class/week. We got paid $375/month to work full time in the hospital and couldn't take the RN boards until the end of the third year. I got sick with meningitis during my second year and almost died. When I was finished, I never wanted to have anything to do with nursing again. I came back, thru the US, back to university, in the 90s. No comment.

What do the nursing organizations in Australia say to this? Is there any hope of voting it down or is it a done deal? I just can't believe that they would allow nursing to regress to the level hospital handmaidens again. It is demeaning and detrimental to pt care.