Contemporary enrolled nursing practice: opportunities and issues

Over the last decade, Australia, as with the rest of the developed world, has experienced a widespread labour market decline in the numbers of nurses in the health workforce. Concurrent with this nursing shortage, the second level nurse has, in many countries, ceased to be recognised as a legitimate nursing role. In Australia, recent research indicates that the enrolled nurse role, though contentious, is consolidating as a core component of the health care workforce. This paper reports on national research that examined the role and function of the enrolled nurse in Australia and reviewed the Australian Nursing Council Inc (ANCI) National Competency Standards for Enrolled Nurses. Specific issues related to the contemporary role and function of enrolled nurses, namely supervision, scope of practice and education, are also discussed.