Jun 11, 2008, 12:06 am
Hi Mandy, I am a Tasmanian EN and I still get confused as to the differing scope of practice for Australian EN's. An EN from the state you intend to work in could offer the best advice but I thought I'd say HI anyways as a fellow pom.
Just a thought, some Universities in Australia offers a fast track RN Qualification (you get no summer breaks) which qualifies you in 2 years as a fully fledged registered nurse. Maybe that would be an option for you as it would be a recognised qualification in the UK should you choose to return? It also offers more freedom to move around in Australia. Not an easy option with a 3 year old but maybe a possibility?
I work on a surgical ward in a public hospital. We do all medications except IV medications, and there are some odd rules about who unlocks the dangerous drugs cupboard and carries the narcotics and keys! The whole ''direct and indirect supervision by an RN'' thing is at best slightly murky! On my ward EN's work side by side with RN's but this is not always the case. The UK's ''Green coat/ blue coat'' division certainly exists here but is you know your stuff I think it is less so. Scope of practice can vary with your place of work and state legislation. For example I can remove a wound drain but not a IV canulla! I can take bloods but not check that a unit of packed cells to be infused is the correct unit.
An IV package is being introduced for EN's in the near future in Tasmania (there has been talk of this for a long time though)...The EN course in Tasmania is currently being changed from a certificate IV to a diploma course and I am not fully sure of how this all works, like many of my colleagues.
As I understand it in my state EN's have greater responsibility in an Aged Care setting. As our scope permits us to care for stable patients only this can be a grey area in the acute setting. Having said that EN's have recently been employed in our DEM and EN numbers are set to increase hospital wide.
Hope that helps a little, best of luck with your move!
