national competency standards for the enrolled nurse
Introduction Description of Enrolled Nurse National Competency Standards Assessing Competence Glossary of Terms
Introduction
The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Council (ANMC) is a peak national nursing and midwifery organisation established in 1992 with the purpose of developing a national approach to nursing and midwifery regulation. The ANMC works in conjunction with the state and territory nursing and midwifery regulatory authorities (NMRAs) to produce national standards which are an integral component of the regulatory framework to assist nurses and midwives to deliver safe and competent care. The standards include the national competency standards for enrolled nurses which were first adopted by the ANMC in the early 1990s. These have been reviewed and revised regularly since then. Other standards developed by the ANMC for implementation by the NMRAs include the competency standards for registered nurses, midwives and nurse practitioners, codes of professional conduct and ethics, and a range of position statements and guidelines. The full list of standards, position papers and guidelines produced by the ANMC can be viewed on the website. The national competency standards for the enrolled nurse are scheduled for review in 2007. This review will be undertaken by a team of expert nursing consultants and will include extensive consultation with nurses around Australia. The purpose underpinning the review will be to contemporise the standards to reflect the changing role of the enrolled nurse within the health environment of today. Whilst ANMC anticipates the resulting standards will be different in some areas from the existing competency standards, they will remain broad and principle based so that they are sufficiently dynamic for practising nurses and the NMRAs to use as a benchmark to assess competence to practice in a range of settings.