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01 Jun 2023
Today the Congress of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Nurses and Midwives (CATSINaM) and the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) have committed to a landmark Partnership Investment Agreement (PIA) to improve the quality and safety for contemporary nursing and midwifery for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People.
The agreement brings together CATSINaM and the NMBA to support the delivery of strategies and recommendations made in the ‘Gettin em keepin em and growin em’ (GENKE II) report. This includes addressing systemic racism and enhancing cultural safety, as well as empowering the next generation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nurses and midwives, engagement with education pathways and strengthening community. CATSINaM CEO, Dr Ali Drummond speaks to the importance of the agreement, saying: ‘this Partnership Agreement is breaking new ground in terms of how we work together, with a common vision and joint initiatives to implement CATSINaM’s strategy which focuses on regulation and education reform for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nurses and midwives across Australia’. ‘Those participating in the agreement acknowledge the different lived experience of Indigenous peoples, especially as racialised First Nations peoples in a colonial nation-state,” Dr Drummond said. ‘Indigenous voices can speak of the operations of colonial violence including racism and subsequently offer insights into new strategies to confronting the issues of inequity that Indigenous peoples are subjected to.’ NMBA Chair, Adjunct Professor Veronica Casey AM highlighted the importance of committing to the collaboration and co-design of what nursing and midwifery will look like for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nurses and midwives into the future. ‘Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nurses and midwives are significantly under-represented in the Australian health workforce and by working with CATSINaM and other peak bodies we hope to support the increase of these numbers,’ Adj Prof Casey said. ‘We also hope to progress new strategies to enhance the delivery of Culturally Safe care by nurses, midwives and students for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.’ The PIA is designed to create systemic, lasting change and will enable collaboration, innovation and shared decision making to effect change. If CATSINaM and NMBA identify new parties that need to work in collaboration with this venture, CATSINaM will perform a partnership assessment to ensure that the new party is ready and able to be fully engaged in all aspects of the PIA, including governance, investment, collaboration, and change.
Read the GENKE II report