Nursing educations and graduates : profiles for 2001 and projections for 2002

The present study was commissioned for the National Review of Nursing Education. This is the second of two national studies commissioned to map in detail nursing education programs and to profile and make future projections regarding graduates from undergraduate and postgraduate nursing education courses in Australia.<br /><br />The first study was undertaken in 2001 by Deakin University School of Nursing under the auspices of the 2001 Evaluation Investigations Project titled "Nursing Education and Graduates: Profiles for 1999, and 2000 with projections for 2001". This project sought data on nursing education within Australia in order to improve the accuracy of nursing education databases and to strengthen the ability of DETYA to provide advice on workforce planning. Issues that arose from that project included differences in data sets for undergraduate nursing courses in Australia and the complex process of attempting to tease out and accurately quantify postgraduate specialty courses when a trend towards postgraduate generic courses was evident. Approximately 26% of postgraduate domestic student enrolment data were reported utilising a generic nursing course category.<br /><br />The purpose of this study was, therefore, twofold. Firstly, this study validated and extended the existing database developed in the previous study mapping in detail the full range of undergraduate programs offered by tertiary education providers across Australia that lead to an initial qualification and entry into nursing practice.<br /><br />New data about the following was sought:<br /><br /> * Undergraduate nursing degrees (both three-year and four-year courses);<br /> * Double/combined nursing degrees;<br /> * Courses offered by private universities;<br /> * Four-year bachelor degrees that concurrently provide both initial nurse registration and preparation for specialty nursing practice;<br /> * Courses that facilitate ‘fast-tracking’ of students for initial nurse registration with previous tertiary or nursing studies,<br /> * Hours and configuration of clinical experience in undergraduate nursing courses. <br />