National Board approves project on registered nurse standards for practice

16 Apr 2014

The National Board is funding a project to review the Registered nurse standards for practice (incorporating a review of the current national competency standards for the registered nurse).

Southern Cross University is managing this Board-funded project and is seeking to develop draft registered nurse standards for practice that reflect the contemporary role and scope of practice of registered nurses.

Since the competency standards for the registered nurse were first developed, there have been substantial developments in role and scope of practice across Australia. There are also changes in education and training leading to registration and the regulatory framework within which registration and enrolment of nurses and midwives occurs. This has provided the catalyst to review the standards to make sure they reflect contemporary practice and the right educational preparation.

The project initiated this April 2014 will run in a phased approach for about 20 months. Extensive stakeholder consultation will be a key component of all phases, with a final report due to the National Board around end 2015.