Employed
An employed nurse is one who either:
- worked for a total of 1 hour or more in the week before the survey in a job or business for pay, commission, payment in kind or profit, mainly or only in a particular state or territory
- usually worked, but was away on leave (with some pay) for less than 3 months, on strike or locked out, or rostered off.
Enrolled nurse
A nurse who is on the roll maintained by the nursing and midwifery registration board in each state and territory. The minimum educational requirement for an enrolled nurse is a Certificate IV or Diploma from a vocational education and training provider, or equivalent from a recognised hospital-based program. To maintain enrolment, nurses must have practised for a specified minimum period in the previous 5 years (this is referred to as ‘recency of practice’, with the requirements depending on the registration board). Enrolled nurses include mothercraft and dental nurses where the educational course requirements are less than a 3-year degree course or equivalent. Enrolled nurses usually work with registered nurses to provide patients with basic nursing care, doing less complex procedures than registered nurses.
Midwife
In some jurisdictions, midwives are now recognised as a separate profession. To register and practise as a midwife, a person must have appropriate qualifications in midwifery. There are two paths to these qualifications. Traditionally (and still most commonly) midwives first qualify as registered nurses, and then do additional midwifery training to qualify and register as midwives. Also, midwives may now qualify through direct entry midwifery undergraduate programs (that is, they are not required to first qualify as a registered nurse). Direct entry midwives, as with other midwives, must be registered with a nursing and midwifery board to practise. Direct entry midwives are restricted to practising midwifery only, whereas other midwives are also able to practise general nursing.
Where a registered and enrolled nurse breakdown is provided, midwives are included in the category of ‘registered nurses’, irrespective of the training path they have followed. Although direct entry midwives are not registered to practise in general nursing, they are included as registered nurses in broad breakdowns of registered and enrolled nurses to ensure that all nurses are represented in these results.
Multiple registrations and enrolments
In estimating the number of nurses in a state or territory, only those who report that they worked mainly or only in that particular state or territory are included. Nurses who report that they worked mainly or only in another state or territory are assumed to be registered or enrolled in another state or territory, and to have completed the survey in more than one state or territory.
Nursing and midwifery labour force
The nursing and midwifery labour force is defined for this report as:
- registered and enrolled nurses employed in nursing or midwifery in the week before the survey
- registered and enrolled nurses not employed in nursing or midwifery but looking for work in nursing in the week before the survey
- registered and enrolled nurses who, at the time of the survey, were on maternity or other extended leave.
That is, those working overseas and those not working in nursing but not looking for work in nursing in the week before the survey are excluded.
Nursing role
The role of the nurse refers to the main role (that is, the core nursing role with the most number of hours worked in the week before the survey) in the nurse’s main job (that is, the job with the most number of hours worked in the week before the survey). Core nursing roles are divided into two main groups, with several categories in each group, as follows:
Clinical role: A registered or enrolled nurse who is mainly involved in the care and treatment of patients, as well as the supervision and management of clinical nurses. Categories include clinical nurses (direct patient care) and clinical nurse managers and or administrators (managing clinical nurses and midwives).
Non-clinical role: A registered or enrolled nurse other than a clinician. This includes:
- lecturing, nurse/midwifery educator, supervisor of new nurses/midwives: A person who teaches or trains persons in nursing for their initial qualification or in advanced skills after initial qualification
- researcher: A person engaged in nursing research
- other: A job function in nursing which is not one of the above—for example, industrial relations or public health activities in nursing.
The questions in the survey varied over the years so:
- From 1995 to 2001, Clinical nurses includes: Clinical nurses and Clinical nurse managers.
- From 2003 to 2004, Clinical nurses includes: Clinician nurses, Clinical nurse managers and Supervisors of new nurses.
- From 2005, Clinical nurses includes: Clinician nursing and Clinical management and or nurse/midwifery administration.
Registered nurse
A nurse or midwife who is on the register maintained by the state or territory nursing and midwifery board or council in each state or territory. The minimum educational requirement for a registered nurse or midwife is a 3-year degree from a higher education institution or equivalent from a recognised hospital-based program. To maintain registration, nurses must have practised for a specified minimum period in the previous 5 years (this is referred to as ‘recency of practice’, with the actual requirements depending on the registration board).
Where a registered or enrolled nurse breakdown is provided, midwives are included in the category of ‘registered nurses’, irrespective of the training path they have followed. Although direct entry midwives are not registered to practise in general nursing, they are included as registered nurses in broad breakdowns of registered and enrolled nurses to ensure that all nurses are represented in these results.