Workforce planning
FACTS about our nursing workforce
There are currently 92,326 Registered Nurses in Victoria, about a quarter of which are division 2 nurses (NBV data 2010)
It has been said that 12,000 nurses have left the system.....
However:
- Each year in Victoria between 4,500-5,500 nurses leave the register (they retire, are unable to demonstrate ongoing competence to practice, migration etc). This equates to attrition rate of 6.5% which is considered reasonable. At the same time about 1000 nurse re-register each year after being off the register for a period and between 7000-8000 new registrants join the profession and register for the first time in Victoria. (Source:NBV data 2009).
- For every nurse that does not renew their registration, 1.7 nurses are added to the NBV register (NBV 2009).
It has been said that ¿more and more students are dropping out of nursing …
However:
- Nursing has one of the lowest attrition rates in undergraduate study at just 7% (and compared to overall attrition of 14% for all courses, architecture 23% and education 16%) and health students (including nursing) are more likely to persist in their orginal course of study rather than changing to other courses.
Source: Australian Council of Educational Research. Course change and attrition from higher education. Longitudinal surveys of Australian youth. Research Report 39 , and - 96.7% of nursing graduates are employed in nursing within 4 months of completing their qualification. Source: Graduate Careers Australia. Gradstats 2008.
It has been said that Victoria has the lowest nurse to population ratio…
However:
- The number of nurses per 100,000 population is 1,484, making it the third highest in Australia (ABS and NBV data)
It has been said that many more Victorian nurses are leaving to work in other states…
However:
- For the past 5 years, over 5500 nurses in Victoria that previously left the register have re-registered (NBV 2008), and the net increase in nurses employed in public health services in Victoria from 1999 to 2008 is 8,827 effective full time equivalents (EFT) and the actual head count is greater. (DHS 2008)
It has been said that there are 30,000 nurses in Victoria who are not working in nursing…
However:
- Across the whole of Australia in 2005 there were 30,663 registered nurses not working or looking for work in nursing. In Victoria, this number was 4,625. (Nursing and midwifery labour force 2005, AIHW).
It has been said that the Victorian nursing workforce is older than elsewhere…
However:
- The average age of a nurse in Australia is 42.2 years and in Victoria it is slightly lower at 41.9 years. (Nursing and midwifery labour force, AIHW 2005).
It has been said that admissions to hospitals are increasing and the number of nurses is dropping
However:
In the financial year 2006/07 to 2007/08:
- Admissions to public health services per 1000 people grew by 2.7% while
- The number of nurses (EFT) our public hospitals employed increased by 9.5%
(Souce: Your Hospitals, DHS 2008).
Workforce Planning
The DHS Nurse Policy Branch has an important role in nurse workforce planning. The Branch works closely with health services to improve their workforce planning and development. In doing so it undertakes a range of data collection analysis and action. The Branch also facilitates the analysis of the nurse labourforce survey completed annually by nurses.
Nurse workforce planning is facilitated in conjunction with staff from Service and Workforce Planning Branch who work closely with a number of national bodies with respect to health workforce planning. Further details regarding their work can be found at the DHS workforce site. This site will also provide information on the Australian Health Workforce Officials Committee (AHWOC) which advises the Australian Health Ministers Advisory Council (AHMAC) and the Australian Health Ministers Council on health workforce issues and undertakes useful workforce research. Click here to directly access the Australian Medical Workforce Advisory Committee website.
Nurse workforce assessment (Supply and Demand)
Nurses in Victoria. A supply and demand analysis 2003-04 to 2011-12 November 2004 (PDF File 1.89MB)This is a major study of the dynamics affecting the demand for and supply of nurses in Victoria to approximately 2011. In 2002 Deakin University prepared a report on nurse graduate numbers, enrolments, trends in enrolments and a range of other analyses entitled Nursing Education and Graduates in Victoria: Profiles for 2000 and 2001 with projections for 2002.
Rural Workforce planning
During 2007, Rural and Regional Health Services Branch and Nurse Policy Branch have hosted a series of Nurse Workforce Planning Workshops across the five DHS rural regions. The workshops have been well attended and are interactive workshops that are targeted to provide health services with practical assistance in workforce planning. The workshops have used the DHS Rural Health Workforce Planning Guidelines (pdf, 509kb) developed in collaboration with the rural health sector. The guidelines are designed to help rural health services undertake their own planning exercises. They go through the critical steps of workforce planning and contain easy-to-use templates and spreadsheets. These guidelines were developed in recognition that forces such as population aging and workforce changes may result in changes to health services and their workforce. Workforce planning is vital to understanding the challenges facing health service workforce and developing strategies that meet these challenges in a planned, considered and collaborative way.