Elsevier

Collegian

Volume 22, Issue 1, March 2015, Pages 3-7
Collegian

The accreditation of nursing education in Australia

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.colegn.2013.10.002Get rights and content

Summary

This paper aims to explore and discuss the role that ANMAC and the accreditation standards play in pre-registration nursing education nationally. The context of the discussion is situated in the continuum of events that mark the accreditation of nursing education in Australia.

The National Registration and Accreditation Scheme has given rise to significant challenges related to the accreditation of nursing programs of education in Australia. Given the importance of accreditation to the quality of nursing education, ANMAC in its appointed role as accrediting authority, must fill the position rather than occupy it. Enhancing transparency and effectiveness is central to ensuring accreditation facilitates quality in nursing education. Given ANMAC's key position, further work is needed in developing a broad base of expertise by fostering scholarly output in the substantive area of nursing accreditation.

There is a concerning lack of research centred on the accreditation of programs of nursing education along with the processes associated with it. This problem is not restricted to the Australian context but also extends internationally. In this context, the expertise of accreditors ought to be questioned along with the processes ANMAC use to identify individual capability. As such, the selection of experts needs to be articulated clearly by ANMAC along with the ownership of introducing a research culture into accreditation.

Introduction

The role of the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Accreditation Council (ANMAC) as the accrediting authority for nursing and midwifery programs of study is arguably the most crucial one in Australian healthcare education today. Immense challenges face the nursing profession both now and in the future. The present and intensifying nursing workforce shortage threatens to undermine the efficacy of healthcare delivery across the nation while issues related to national variances in curriculum are a presiding concern. Indeed, the quality of nursing education across the nation is such that urgent attention is needed to address long-standing challenges pertaining to curriculum relevance; student attrition; student satisfaction; teaching delivery and work readiness. The profession must plan for the future by moving in a meaningful direction at a time when huge increases in nursing enrolments are called for amid the intensifying debate around the nursing role and nursing education itself. As the accrediting authority, ANMAC acts as the nation's gatekeepers of nursing education. On a national scale, their role influences the quality of nursing curriculum design, nursing graduates and nursing care in Australia; factors that are tangible outputs of what is essentially a discreet process. In this paper, we explore and discuss the role that ANMAC and the accreditation standards play in pre-registration nursing education nationally.

Section snippets

From the ANMC to the ANMAC

Since the transition of Australian nursing education from hospital-based training to the higher education sector was completed in 1994 (AIHW, 2003) the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Council (ANMC) – itself established in 1992 – has worked alongside state and territory nursing and midwifery regulatory authorities (NMRAs) towards developing nursing and midwifery standards for Australia's healthcare requirements. The ANMC has a rich history in the continuum of nursing history as they have

Setting the standards

In this context – and under its new organisational structure – ANMAC employed the National Accreditation Standards and Criteria for Registered Nurses, developed in their former guise as the ANMC in 2009 (ANMC, 2009a, ANMAC, 2011). The creation of this document was underpinned by the National Framework for the Accreditation of Nursing and Midwifery Courses Leading to Registration, Enrolment, Endorsement and Authorisation in Australia originally established in 2007 to reflect the commitment of

Into the future

In future days, the task of ANMAC will no doubt continue to be marked by managing the complexities of the nursing profession while moving to enhance the educational quality of nursing programs across the country. The health and higher education sectors are strongly established and politically sensitive entities that are undergoing significant reforms in health policy, governance and funding with implications for nursing education in Australia (ANMAC, 2012a, ANMAC, 2012b, ANMAC, 2012c, ANMAC,

Conclusion

Undeniably, the task of enhancing nursing education through accreditation standards is a difficult one. While the path from ANMC to ANMAC has not been without difficulty, the establishment of national accreditation standards is in itself an achievement. Clearly, opportunities for enhancing the standards are present with the need for greater transparency, expertise development and management of consultative processes. The true operational relationship between the NMBA and ANMAC is yet to be

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