THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANISATION has designated 2020 as the “Year of the Nurse”, marking 200 years since the birth of Florence Nightingale, who established the principles of modern nursing and hospital sanitation. If she were to drop in on a hospital today, Nightingale would be pleased to see the progress in nursing since her day—and how it is poised to change in the years to come.
Nightingale founded the first nursing school, at a hospital in London in 1860, and wrote some 200 books and papers. She was the first woman admitted to the Royal Statistical Society, for her pioneering work in statistical infographics. While tending to British soldiers in the Crimean war, she made the case for hospital sanitation using a variation of the pie chart, entitled “Diagram of the Causes of Mortality in the Army in the East”, to show that more soldiers died from infections than from injuries. She drew up the chart to “affect through the Eyes what we may fail to convey to the brains of the public through their word-proof ears”. In what became known as a Coxcomb diagram, each slice of the pie has the same angular width and an area representing the amount in a given category (such as number of dead men).
Many, if not most, people today think of nursing as a narrow set of skills learned on the ward, much like it was back in Nightingale’s time. In fact, nurses have university degrees and there are doctorate-level studies in nursing. Like doctors, nurses specialise in myriad clinical disciplines, such as neonatology, cardiology and Accident & Emergency. There are even forensic nurses. Such is the pace of innovation in nursing that some issues of American Nurse Today, a monthly journal, run north of 70 pages.
In 2020 and beyond nurses will be doing a growing number of tasks conventionally reserved for doctors, both in acute and chronic care. Already, nearly two-thirds of anaesthetics given to patients in America are administered by certified nurse anaesthetists. In Britain specialised nurses now perform some types of abdominal, orthopaedic and cardiac surgery. In parts of sub-Saharan Africa nurses are being trained to do emergency caesarean sections, with results comparable to those achieved by doctors.
The changing face of nursing
Nurses will be increasingly tapped to replace general practitioners in treating patients with diabetes and other chronic conditions that require lifestyle changes. Nurses are particularly well placed to provide this kind of holistic care, which takes into account each person’s life circumstances, because they have long been patients’ confidants. In the words of Brian Dolan, an academic, “people look up to a doctor, but they look a nurse in the eye.” In surveys about trust in people from various professions, nurses invariably come top.
What would disappoint Nightingale in her time-travel to the present is that the transformation of nursing has been uneven. In countries as varied as India, Germany and Portugal nurses are still largely treated as doctors’ minions and may not even diagnose common ailments or prescribe medication. And although nurses make up nearly half of the world’s health-care workforce—and 90% of patients’ contacts with health workers—they are often not at the table when health-policy decisions are made. Even the World Health Organisation did not have a chief nursing officer until 2018.
The other trend that would make Nightingale furrow her brow is that nursing has lost its lustre, so most posts are hard to fill. In many countries no profession has a higher number of vacancies. In the next decade the shortage of nurses will remain the biggest problem that national health systems all over the world will face. By 2030 the world will be short of 7.6m nurses, which is a third of their number today.
To turn this tide, efforts to draw more people into nursing and keep trained nurses from leaving the profession will accelerate. Countries will focus more on recruiting nurses locally, rather than luring them from abroad—often from poor places where health care is already crippled by nurse shortages. National media campaigns will aim to raise the profile of nursing by dispelling outdated views about what the job entails. Some may borrow ideas from Singapore’s highly effective campaign, which has commissioned nursing dramas, documentaries and even a “nursing anthem” (in the form of a catchy pop-music video). The campaign’s Instagram account has something for everyone, including love stories of couples who met in nursing school.
Prodded by a global campaign which began in 2018, more hospitals and other employers will set up professional-development and leadership programmes for nurses. There will be more talk—and, it is hoped, action too—about how to enable nurses to work at the top of their licence and abilities. Technology will be roped in to make their work more manageable and reduce burnout. Algorithms, for example, will be used to map the optimal routes for ward shifts.
At the same time, as diagnostic systems and surgical robots advance, nursing may be the only aspect of the health-care profession in which machines will not replace human beings. Even though nursing is shaped by medical science and technology, as it has been since Nightingale’s time, its healing powers remain rooted in empathy and a human touch.
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In Australia nurses provide nursing care to patients in hospitals, aged care and other health care facilities, as well as in the community. Depending upon the roles set in the healthcare sector, the occupation is often divided into two roles – enrolled and registered nurses. Historically nursing serves as an excellent platform for various high-paid job opportunities and permanent residency visa pathways in Australia.
In 2019–20 nursing serves as the best occupation when it comes to career and permanent residency choices for people wishing to emigrate to Australia. Australia’s migration program offers over 17,000 places for nurses, which is also the highest number for any occupation in the Occupation Ceiling. All other occupations are offered less than 9,000 places.
Australia offers both temporary and permanent visa options for skilled nurses who have local or overseas qualifications, language skills and relevant work experience and nurses need to be registered to work in Australia and for migration purposes. Furthermore a new assessment model is now applicable to overseas nurses and midwives seeking registration in Australia, which has simplified the process. See our previous blog here.
Nurses and midwives are in huge demand all over Australia, including regional and remote areas and this demand is projected to not only be sustained, but also increase due to the growing needs and ageing population of Australians.
Take note this opportunity only covers 2019–20, so there is no guarantee it is going to be repeated past this time frame.
If you are interested in a “New Life Adventure” in Australia, we recommend you work closely with us with some gusto, to take advantage of this fantastic opportunity while it lasts. At the moment it is a “Perfect Storm” in Australia, for people with nursing qualifications who are serious about their future.
Read our previous blog here regarding our service offering in the healthcare sector.
For mental health practitioners you will be interested in the opportunities in Australia for you. See our previous blog here regarding the state of mental health in Victoria and the opportunities this is creating.
Contact us for a confidential discussion and if you know of anyone who would be interested refer them and be rewarded.
See the below videos for useful information on Australia for you.
This is absolutely great news for you Internationally Qualified Nurses and Midwives (IQNMs) out there – As part of its public protection role, the NMBA in partnership with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) is responsible for assessing registration applications from IQNMs to ensure they are suitably trained and qualified for registration in Australia. The NMBA is moving to a new permanent approach in the assessment of IQNMs. Changes under the new model include a reduction in the assessment criteria from eight to three. This change dramatically streamlines the assessment process. And it keeps getting better.
In addition in early 2020, the NMBA will also transition to an outcomes-based assessment (OBA) for IQNMs who hold a qualification that is relevant but not substantially equivalent or based on similar competencies to an Australian approved qualification (and who meet the mandatory registration standards). This will replace the current need for bridging programs, which significantly reduces the time and expense of gaining registration to be able to practice your profession in Australia.
But wait there’s more. If you are from a country Australia recognises as an English first language speaking country there is no requirement for you to have to undertake the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). Recognised countries include Canada, New Zealand, Republic of Ireland, South Africa, United Kingdom and United States of America.
Australia is currently experiencing a shortage of healthcare professionals across many specialties. It is recognised, a skilled workforce is essential to the future success of the Australian Healthcare system and this is great news for you.
Accordingly there are many opportunities for international healthcare professionals and this is attracting talented and enthusiastic professionals to Australia, drawn by our high quality of life, stunning landscape, great climate, favourable employment conditions and the wide range of opportunities for personal and career growth.
We at The Aristos Group are working closely with employers and candidates alike to provide a highly customised service to ensure we match your skills and preferences with the ideal employer, location and role. We make the process easy for healthcare professionals wanting to move and work in Australia and our service is absolutely free to you. Contact us today for a confidential discussion. What’s more, why not refer family, friends or colleagues to share in this exciting adventure and be rewarded.