The future of nursing and midwifery – Where are we heading?

Leadership and Issues in the Workforce for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Nurses in Australia

Faye ClarkeCongress of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Nurses

My qualifications

• Gunditjmara, Wotjobaluk, Ngarrundjeri

• Victorian Director for CATSIN • Community Health Nurse,

Baarlinjan Medical Clinic• GCTE 2007• GCDE 2011

Congress of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Nurses

Baarlinjan Medical Clinic

Aims

• To define Australia’s Indigenous people• To describe the role of CATSIN in Australian

health care system• To demonstrate the need to increase the

recruitment and retention of Aboriginal nurses and leaders

• Barriers to developing leaders in nursing in the workforce and in the education setting

• Programs designed to assist in Australia• Where are we heading?

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people

Indigenous Population By State

NSW

Vic

Qld

WA

SA

Tas

ACTNT

ABS, 2010

Life Expectancy

2009 ABS estimates of life expectancy for children born during 2005-07

ABS - 2009 Indigenous Non-Indigenous

Women 72.9 82.6

Men 67.2 78.7

Mortality causes:

CONGRESS OF ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER NURSES

OUR FORWARD DREAMINGThe numbers of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in nursing and midwiferyreflects the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population.

OUR REASON FOR BEINGTo increase the recruitment and retention of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in nursing and midwifery.

CATSIN’S Major Focus Areas

• To develop strategies aimed at increasing the numbers of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples into nursing and midwifery, and to retain them in the profession

• To ensure non-Indigenous nurses and midwives have education and trainingin our history, health and culture

Number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Nurses

(Registered and Enrolled)

Year Total Nurses2001 7912006 11352011 2212

What is leadership?

• Cultural safety • Understanding • Commitment and passion • Persistence • Respect

How are leaders made?

• Emerging Nurse Leaders• Motivating Factors

Role modellingA causeA desire for a better future

Indigenous leaders

• Education and research• Support from regulatory authorities • Recognising the voice of community• Many nations • Aboriginal activism is good practice• Learning from elders

Barriers in the education sector

• Successfully completing university• Risks to success• Issues and difficulties • Tackling the barriers:

Tjirtamai

Barriers in the workforce setting

• Identification• Cultural safety• Stresses associated with nursing as a profession• Costs of further education• Horizontal hostility• Workload in Aboriginal health setting• Limited number of Aboriginal nurses creates

pressure• Training opportunities• Over-commitment

Working collaboratively

• Create a critical mass• Join forces with other Indigenous

organisations in health• Work with our non-Indigenous

colleagues• Improve training opportunities and

career paths• Mentoring• Be creative and always inspire

Conclusion• Australia’s diverse Indigenous population includes

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people• CATSIN’s aim is to increase numbers of

Indigenous nurses and midwives• Indigenous people face many barriers in the

education setting • Indigenous nurses and midwives also face

barriers in the work place that can impact on their development as leaders

• Leadership programs are essential to develop our future workforce

CATSIN representatives at NZ SPNF

References• Aboriginal Australia Map, 2009, http://www.surrender.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/map_largeweb.jpg • Australian Nursing Federation, 2012, Ensuring Quality http://anf.org.au/documents/reports/Issues_Ensuring_quality.pdf • Australian Indigenous Health Infonet, (2012) Summary of Australian Indigenous health; http://

www.healthinfonet.ecu.edu.au/health-facts/summary; 9/11/12• Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2009) ‘Numbers of Indigenous GP’s, registered nurses and health students all

rising’, www.aihw.gov.au/media-release-detail/?id=6442464820

• Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2012. Nursing and midwifery workforce 2011. National health workforce series no. 2. Cat. no. HWL 48.

Canberra: AIHW.

• Duffield, et al, 2007, Staff satisfaction and retention, and the role of the Nursing Unit Manager, Collegian, Journal of the Royal College or Nursing

Australia, 16;1;11-17.

• Health Workforce Australia, 2012, Health Workforce Insights, Issue 5, http://www.healthworkforceaustralia.com.au/hwinsights/issue5/index.html

• Hill, J, 2012 http://redroomcompany.org/poet/jonathan-hill/• Six pak productions, Multicultural entertainment, http://www.sixpak.com.au/multi.html• The Courier-Mail, 2011 http://

www.couriermail.com.au/ipad/performers-mark-coming-of-the-light/story-fn6ck51p-1226085146869• Torres Strait Island map, 2012, www.tsirc.qld.gov.au• West, R, 2010, ‘Tjirtamai - ‘To Care for’: A nursing education model designed to increase the number of Aboriginal nurses in a rural and

remote Queensland community’ Contemporary Nurse: a Journal for the Australian Nursing Profession, 37: 1, • West, R, 2010, ‘Increased numbers of Australian Indigenous nurses would make a significant contribution to ‘closing the gap’ in Indigenous

health: What is getting in the way?’ Contemporary Nurse: a Journal for the Australian Nursing Profession, 37; 1, pp 107-108• Usher, K. (2010) ‘Indigenous higher degree research students making a difference to the Indigenous health agenda’,

Contemporary Nurse: a Journal for the Australian nursing profession, Dec.

• IT Support: Alana Ryan