NMBA recognises special day for nurses

12 May 2015

On behalf of the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA or National Board), I commend Australia’s 328,121 enrolled nurses, registered nurses and nurse practitioners for their invaluable contribution to the health and well being of the Australian community.

International Nurses Day is being commemorated worldwide on Tuesday 12 May 2015, the anniversary of Florence Nightingale's birth. This year’s theme is Nurses: A Force for Change: Care Effective, Cost Effective.

NMBA Chair Lynette Cusack, RN said the commemorative day was a perfect opportunity to celebrate and reflect on nurses and nurse practitioners, as the largest health care profession in Australia, and how they contribute to the way health care services and health workforce reform deliver better health outcomes for our communities.

‘Australia’s nurses take pride in their nursing work, endeavouring to achieve the best possible health outcomes when caring for their patients,’ Dr Cusack said.

In the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme (NRAS), the NMBA sets the regulatory policy framework for the nursing profession. This includes the development of registration standards the profession and professional practice codes, standards and guidelines to guide nurses in their professional practice.

‘Nurses and nurse practitioners play an important part in the NMBA’s consultation process by providing feedback on reviews of standards and policy,’ Dr Cusack said.

This year, we have funded a range of projects that address aspects of nursing regulation including:

• Review of the endorsement as a nurse practitioner registration standard and associated guidelines
• Registered Nurse standards for practice review
• Enrolled Nurse standards for practice review, and
• Re-entry to practice policy and provisional registration type for nurses and midwives

In 2015 – 2016 we will also be initiating reviews of the Professional boundaries for nurses, Code of professional conduct for nurses and Code of ethics for nurses.

We stay committed to supporting nurses in their invaluable work to practise in the provision of safe care for Australian communities.

Dr Lynette Cusack, RN
Chair
Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia

For more information

• Lodge an online enquiry form
• For registration enquiries: 1300 419 495 (within Australia) +61 03 9275 9009 (overseas callers)
• For media enquiries: (03) 8708 9200

Download a PDF of this Media statement - NMBA recognises special day for nurses - 12 May 2015 (111 KB,PDF)