Future Victorian undergraduates studying a degree in nursing and midwifery will get a free education between 2023 to 2024, but nurses in NSW don’t feel this incentive will attract more students.
September 4, 2022
Premier Andrews alongside health minister Mary-Anne Thomas announced this scheme in the hopes of attracting more students to nursing and midwifery. “This package will train and hire more nurses than ever before,” Andrews said at a press conference on August 28th.
The package also includes scholarships for postgraduate nurses worth an average of $10,000, for those who wish to complete studies in speciality areas.
The Victorian Government sees this initiative as a huge step for the state in hopes to train and hire more nurses and midwives to improve the staffing numbers in hospitals.
The Dean of Nursing and Midwifery at Western Sydney University, Deborah Hatcher is hopeful that a similar initiative could take place in NSW.
She has been in discussion with the Department of Health Workforce representative of Victoria to see if her online students at WSU who live in Victoria could have their fees subsidised.
Currently the initiative is only for Universities in Victoria, but Professor Hatcher was told things could “open up” once the effectiveness of the scheme is evaluated.
Dean Hatcher believes that “The money should be tied to the student and not the institution.”
“I’m hoping New South Wales will do something in response because there is the threat that NSW will lose some students who will go and study in Victoria and we don’t want to lose good future nurses and midwives” Hatcher says.
However, her concern remains that more work needs to be done to improve working conditions for both current and future nurses and midwives.
“It’s one thing to have people studying to become nurses and midwives, but once they are employed in the system, we don’t have much power in regard to regaining the workforce,” she says.
“The Victorian incentive is a great way to get more people in, but I think it goes hand in hand with looking at how to retain the nurses and midwives.”
Hatcher believes that the Victorian incentive may spark change for NSW students and is “timely” for the NSW Labour Party to promise a similar incentive with an election coming up in March 2023.
Registered nurse and current lecturer at Wollongong University, Lynne Blanchette feels encouraged by the announcement, however, is sceptical about whether it will help keep nurses in their career.
“More nurses are definitely needed, but I think free education will not, by itself, be the answer to keep experienced nurses in the profession,” says Blanchette.
“I think ongoing regular Newstart type allowance while studying or undertaking placement would really support the young students, with tax benefits or a bonus after staying however long in the industry.”
Casey Williams is in her fourth year of a Bachelor of Nursing at Charles Sturt University and is working part-time as a nurse in the NSW public hospital system.
“I understand it’s to generate interest in the profession and encourage more people to choose nursing, but the healthcare system won’t benefit from this for another three-four years yet”, says Williams.
While expressing her concern for nurses and midwives starting out, Williams said “I’m not certain that free education for healthcare is the solution”, describing it as a “weird proposal” from the Victorian government.
“There’s no guarantee that graduates will stay in the profession long enough. Longevity of career is more of an issue.”
Comments