Significant changes to the scope of practice for enrolled nurses have occurred in Australia over the past decade. These changes, which are largely a consequence of staff shortages and economic pressure, have resulted in increased role confusion and overlap between enrolled and registered nurses in Australia. This paper presents a brief history of the enrolled nurse in Australia followed by an overview of the current situation and emerging trends in the education and employment of these nurses. Definitions and approaches to scope of practice are described and emerging issues within Australia raised and discussed. A review of the literature found the number of enrolled nurses and the roles they perform have changed significantly in Australia following the introduction of the enhanced scope of practice. Further research is required to better define and delineate between the different nursing roles and to explore broader frameworks to analyse, describe and define these roles.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Keywords:	Enrolled nurses, scope of practice, skill mix, Australia, nursing roles
Research Division:	Medical and Health Sciences
Research Group:	Nursing
Research Field:	Nursing not elsewhere classified
Objective Division:	Health
Objective Group:	Health and Support Services
Objective Field:	Nursing
Author:	Barnett, A (Associate Professor Tony Barnett)
ID Code:	88154
Year Published:	2013
Web of Science® Times Cited:	12
Deposited By:	Centre for Rural Health
Deposited On:	2014-01-14
Last Modified:	2017-11-02
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