El Haddada May, Moxham Lorna, Broadbent Marc
University of Wollongong, Australia.
School of Nursing, Midwifery and Indigenous Health, University of Wollongong, Australia.
Collegian. 2013;20(4):233-8. doi: 10.1016/j.colegn.2012.09.003.
An ageing Australian population coupled with declining nursing numbers is predicted to have a significant impact on the Australian Healthcare industry, with numbers of nurses expected to be in greater demand at a time when the need for nursing care is on the rise. The report released recently by Health Workforce Australia predicted a potential shortage of approximately 110,000 nurses by 2025. In Queensland alone, the Queensland Nursing Union estimates the shortage of nurses to be closer to 10,000 positions by 2016 and 14,000 positions by 2020 based on the anticipated Queensland Health hospital expansions. The Commonwealth Government has responded by increasing funding to train more registered nurses across Australia. Hence a significant number of graduate registered nurses are expected and required to join the workforce. However, an analysis of the literature reveals that opinions differ between clinicians and education providers as to whether recently graduated registered nurses are adequately prepared for the challenges of the current healthcare system. Even though much research has been done in Australia on the issue of transition support programmes, graduate registered nurses' transition to practice remains problematic and is perceived to pose a significant challenge to healthcare industry. This paper contributes to the contemporary discourse on graduate registered nurses' practice readiness at a time when a forecasted nursing shortage, the difficulties in accessing sufficient quality clinical placements and the need for fiscal responsibility pose added challenges to education providers and the healthcare industry.
澳大利亚人口老龄化，加上护士数量不断减少，预计将对澳大利亚医疗行业产生重大影响。在护理需求不断上升之际，预计对护士的需求将更大。澳大利亚卫生人力机构最近发布的报告预测，到2025年，护士可能短缺约110,000人。仅在昆士兰州，昆士兰护士工会估计，根据昆士兰卫生部门预期的医院扩张计划，到2016年护士短缺接近10,000个职位，到2020年短缺14,000个职位。联邦政府已做出回应，增加资金以在全澳培训更多注册护士。因此，预计并需要大量本科注册护士加入劳动力队伍。然而，对文献的分析表明，临床医生和教育提供者对于刚毕业的注册护士是否为应对当前医疗系统的挑战做好了充分准备存在不同意见。尽管澳大利亚在过渡支持计划问题上已经进行了大量研究，但本科注册护士向实际工作的过渡仍然存在问题，并且被认为对医疗行业构成重大挑战。在预计会出现护士短缺、难以获得足够数量的高质量临床实习机会以及需要承担财政责任之际，本文为有关本科注册护士执业准备情况的当代讨论做出了贡献，这些情况给教育提供者和医疗行业带来了更多挑战。
