Australian enrolled nurses have their say--Part 1: Teamwork and recognition

Nurses are a cornerstone to the Australian health care workforce and are under increasing pressure to respond to changes in health care demands, the redistribution of health care funding and shortages in nursing workforce availability and skill mix. It is in this context that the role and function of the enrolled nurse has come under recent scrutiny. This paper reports on the qualitative semi-structured interviews conducted as one aspect of an Australia wide multi-phased investigation of enrolled nursing practice and competency standards for this practice. In the reported phase, enrolled nurses from a variety of settings and from all states and territories participated in telephone interviews exploring their experiences of practice and the role of the enrolled nurse. Findings indicated various enabling and limiting influences on enrolled nurse role and function. In this paper two core themes of teamwork and recognition are described as they illustrate the rich interpersonal rewards of enrolled nursing and the significance of recognition by others of the enrolled nurse contribution to health care delivery. These themes are presented as an introduction to part two of this paper which reports more broadly on the dimensions of the enrolled nurse scope of practice.