University Nursing Essay: Australian Industry, Skills, and Ethics

This essay provides a comprehensive analysis of the Australian nursing industry. It begins by outlining the structure, roles, and functions of key regulatory bodies, including the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA), the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA), and the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Accreditation Council (ANMAC), as well as other significant bodies like the Australian College of Nursing (ACN) and the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF). The essay then delves into the professional skills necessary for success in nursing, such as organizational skills, attention to detail, communication, and critical thinking, alongside the professional standards including code of conduct, standards for practice, and code of ethics. Finally, the essay includes a personal reflection on the student's strengths and weaknesses in relation to these identified skills and ethical considerations, supported by prior experiences.

Running head: AUSTRALIAN NURSING INDUSTRY
Professional nursing planning
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

1AUSTRALIAN NURSING INDUSTRY
Nursing industry
Nursing is one of the fastest-growing industries in Australia and constitutes about
56.9% of the total Australian health system. This industry is regulated by some of the key
regulatory bodies described below.
The Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA)
The NMBA is structured to set up various state and territorial boards that assist in
introducing the National Scheme responsible for making decisions and regulating the
practices of nurses, midwives and students on issues of compliance such as auditing
standards, endorsement and notation. The functions of NMBA include registration of nurses,
midwives and students, development of protocols and standards of the practitioners,
management of inquiries and disciplinary meetings, examining the professionals who
obtained their training abroad and aim to practice in Australia and lastly, to consent
accreditation standards and study curriculums (Support for Nurses & Midwives, 2020).
The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Authority (APHRA)
NMBA works closely with APHRA to achieve its objectives, and the Health
Practitioner Regulation National Law guides it. Structurally, APHRA consists of about 15
National Boards to ensure public health by establishing standards that health practitioners of
Australia must follow to provide quality service. Each of these 15 Boards has its health
profession agreement with APHRA that decides the budget and facilities provided. The main
functions of APHRA include registration of health practitioners, setting up standards,
ensuring audit compliance, enabling a mobile working staff in healthcare, accreditation of
complaints and also publish the online database (Ahpra.gov.au, 2020).

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Australian Nursing and Midwifery Accreditation Council (ANMAC)
ANMAC is a non-profit organisation appointed under the supervision of the National
Registration and Accreditation Scheme and works according to the Health Practitioner
Regulation National Law 2009. It has laid down a public document called the constitution as
a reference framework for all its operations, governance, powers of the directors and the
rights as well as duties of its workforce. The functions of ANMAC include examining the
expertise of health practitioners like nurses and midwives through a well-organized procedure
to ensure standard practices in health care on behalf of the government of Australia
(Anmac.org.au, 2020).
Other significant bodies- ACN and ANMF
Australian College of Nursing (ACN) is a national collaboration and has a role in
providing authorised education in nursing. The functions of ACN is mainly to supervise the
nurses of Australia and ensure optimal quality health care to the community. Australian
Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF) is the largest Australian nursing union and
bespoke nurses, midwives and nursing volunteers with concerns relating to the industry and
profession (Gray).
Professional skills
Nursing is part of the healthcare system wherein different sectors expect a variety of
skills from the nurses. Successful nurses require a variety of skills and knowledge, such as
patient-centred approach and compassionate care. Registered nurses are responsible for
managing the routine care of the patients and mediate between the physician and the family
of the patients. Alongside formal education, these nurses also require a set of skills, attitude
and qualities to become successful. Some of these are described in detail as follows:

3AUSTRALIAN NURSING INDUSTRY
 Organisational skills: Every nurse is must possess effective planning and
organisational skills to regularly follow-up with the patient, filling medical charts
and ensuring the requisite dose of medicine (Blais).
 Detail-oriented: It is a crucial skill in the nurses in preparing reports and medications
as the slightest mistake can lead to severe consequences.
 Attentive and observant: The nurses must be alert at all times to detect any shift or
change in the patient’s response, especially when the doctor is not around.
 Physical and mental endurance: Physical strength and mental stability are essential
in the nursing profession, as they might require extended shifts and experience
mental stress and trauma in some cases.
 Communication and interpersonal skills: As nurses have to communicate with the
patients, their families, doctors and other coworkers, outstanding communication
skills are required (Bach and Grant).
 Critical thinking: This skill enables the nurse to identify the patient’s problems and
adopt changes accordingly. Critical thinking helps the nurse to assess the
circumstances and act appropriately (Blais).
Nurses are required to follow specific professional standards as follows:
1. Code of conduct: The Code of Conduct for nurses establishes professional conduct
and legal practices for all registered nurses. According to this manual, nursing
practices must comply with the National Law, safe and patient-centred nursing
interventions must be practiced in a culturally respectful manner. The nursing
workforce must be developed up to the standard, which is done by educating and
examining the students and amateur nurses by the more experienced staff. The last
domain involves the promotion of health conditions for all people (Nursing and
Midwifery Board of Australia).

4AUSTRALIAN NURSING INDUSTRY
2. Standards for practice: The registered nurses are required to follow seven standards of
practice which consist of thinking and evaluating the nursing practice, conducting
comprehensive examinations of the patient, estimating appropriate results for the
patient, balancing the capacity of practice, structure a suitable strategy for nursing
practices, nursing services should be reliable and of optimum quality and involving in
professional and therapeutic relationships.
3. Code of ethics: The International Council of Nurses (ICN) code of ethics is followed
by the nurses to incorporate ethical nursing interventions in their practices. It requires
to involve principles such as beneficence, non-maleficence, honesty, promising,
justice and autonomy (Daly, Speedy and Jackson).
The professionals in the nursing industry identify inculcating all of these principles, code
of conduct, standards for practice and code of ethics in their regular practices to become
successful.
Personal skills
As a registered nurse, I try to embody values such as honesty, compassion, integrity
and respect towards all my patients for effective outcomes. My strengths include excellent
interpersonal skills for constructive communication with the doctor, patient and the family of
the patient. I am always alert and pay attention to details in the changes in the patient’s
condition and note any improvement or deterioration. With significant practical experience, I
can allocate emergency medication or therapy in the absence of a doctor. I believe I might
need improvement in mental endurance as the work pressure is at the peak and some of the
critical cases of the patients lead to extreme mental stress at times. Every nurse should follow
the ethic mentioned in the ICN code of ethics to deliver morally appropriate nursing services.

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References
Ahpra.gov.au. (2020). Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency - What we do.
Ahpra.gov.au. Retrieved 27 February 2020, from https://www.ahpra.gov.au/About-
AHPRA/What-We-Do.aspx.
Anmac.org.au. (2020). Overview | ANMAC | Australian Nursing & Midwifery Accreditation
Council. Anmac.org.au. Retrieved 27 February 2020, from
https://www.anmac.org.au/skilled-migration-services/overview.
Bach, Shirley, and Alec Grant. Communication and interpersonal skills in nursing. Learning
Matters, 2015.
Blais, Kathy. Professional nursing practice: Concepts and perspectives. Pearson, 2015.
Daly, John, Sandra Speedy, and Debra Jackson. Contexts of nursing: An introduction.
Elsevier Health Sciences, 2017.
Gray, Susie, et al. Foundations of Nursing: Enrolled Nurses. Cengage AU, 2018.
Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia. "Code of conduct for nurses." (2018).
Support for Nurses & Midwivies. (2020). What are the NMBA and AHPRA?. Support for
Nurses & Midwivies. Retrieved 27 February 2020, from
https://www.nmsupport.org.au/your-professional-obligations/nmba-and-ahpra.