The accreditation of nursing education in Australia
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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