National Nursing Workforce Strategy

[Alison: My name is Alison McMillan, and I am the Commonwealth Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer.

Karrie: Hi, and my name is Karrie Long. I am the Victorian Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer.

Alison: The purpose of this video is to provide you with an update on how the National Nursing Workforce Strategy is progressing and to thank everyone involved in the recent consultations.

The National Nursing Workforce Strategy is being developed by the Commonwealth Department of Health and Aged Care, the Victorian Department of Health and Safer Care Victoria, in collaboration with all states and territories and nursing stakeholders and consumers.

This strategy will identify opportunities of national significance for the nursing workforce, and provide a framework for all stakeholders including governments, regulators, employers, and the profession, in delivering a sustainable, skilled and enabled nursing workforce. So, what have we done so far to get the Strategy developed?

Karrie: We have just finished Stage One of the development of the Strategy. This included national and international environmental scans, a comprehensive literature review, a supply and demand model study to inform the development of the Strategy and stakeholder consultation.

National and international environment scans were undertaken for 14 countries and 5 organisations.

These scans investigated nursing workforce initiatives around the world, identifying objectives and outcomes, areas of commonality, and where gaps remain. They highlighted similarities in the challenges facing nursing in various countries as well as some innovative solutions.

An updated supply and demand model for the nursing workforce has also been developed. This modelling provides the strategy with the most up to date data to quantify the nursing workforce in Australia and include future scenario projections of workforce requirements.

Consultation was undertaken to hear people’s views on key issues and ideas for the future of nursing.

Over 5,000 stakeholders across the country participated. These consultations varied across a suite of virtual and in-person channels including webinars, workshops, yarning circles, video and written submissions, and surveys. We travelled to each State and Territory to hear your views. And what did we hear from them?

Alison: Firstly, thank you to all the stakeholders who participated in consultations.

It has been incredibly valuable to confirm through the consultation our understanding of the key issues, and hear innovative ideas for the future.

In every consultation format, our team was struck by the genuine desire to contribute, and overwhelming enthusiasm exhibited by participants. Interactions were positive and inspiring.

The multiple data sources and inputs have been synthesised and reveal a range of contemporary ideas and initiatives from Australia and around the world.

Karrie: Key themes that emerged from the data include workforce planning, recruitment and retention, education and lifelong learning, models of care, leaders of the future, the use of technology and data and the diversity and inclusion We heard about the importance of taking a clear national approach to address these key areas.

A summary of the consultation results will be made public soon and will be available on the National Nursing Workforce Strategy website at www.health.gov.au/nnws. Now that we have heard our stakeholders' views, what do the next steps look like moving forward for the strategy?

Alison: We are at an exciting point of developing the Strategy.

Drafting of the Strategy is about to commence as part of Stage Two.

Drafting of the Strategy is being guided by two governance groups – the Strategy Advisory Group and Strategy Steering Committee.

The two groups have met this month to workshop the strategic directions and priorities for inclusion in the Strategy.

Karrie: We will be seeking your engagement again later this year when we release the draft Strategy for public consultation, this is to ensure that we’ve reflected the feedback we heard and are heading in the right direction.

Thank you again and we’ll be in touch in the second half of the year to hear from you once more.]