Furthering your nursing and midwifery career

Developing and implementing an APNE model of care and service

Part of the solution to respond to the growing demand for endoscopy services will be interdisciplinary teams of health professionals (medical, nursing and allied health staff) working collaboratively to utilise their skills to full capacity to provide safe, high-quality, patient-centred care.

While developing its own program and a template for other Victorian health services, Austin Health developed several guidance documents including an Organisational Readiness Checklist and an APNE Trainee Position Description.

The department has adapted these documents for use by other organisations interesting in emulating the training and implementation pathways adopted by Austin Health and its partnering organisations.

For further information, please contact Nursing, Midwifery and Paramedicine Workforce at email nmw@health.vic.gov.au

The Continuing Nursing and Midwifery Education Grant is provided to public health services as a contribution to the cost incurred of developing and providing education programs for nurses and midwives. The grant focuses on the development of knowledge and skill in targeted areas as identified by individual health services.

Eligible public health services/rural consortia will receive notification regarding their Continuing Nursing and Midwifery Education funding allocation by November.

Reporting by recipients of the grant to the department on education activities occurring 1 July to 30 June is required by the end of July.

For further information please see the Training and Development web page.

If you are looking for a midwifery or nursing job in Victoria, vacancies usually appear in the print and online media.

The Victorian Health Employment website advertises public sector health jobs, and it is updated daily.

You can apply for nursing or midwifery jobs directly to your employer of choice.

Full-time, part-time and casual nursing and midwifery jobs are available. With more than 80 public health services and more than 180 public aged care facilities across metropolitan and rural Victoria, there is a variety of places to work.

Pre-employment or pre-placement safety screening (police checks)

You may need to have a pre-employment or pre-placement screening check (for example police check) if you are employed in a public health and aged care facility and are in direct:

• client contact
• patient contact
• management of these services.

Immunisations

Your employer may require you to have up-to-date immunisations. The requirements may vary between employers and employment settings, so you should ask your potential employer what their immunisation requirements are.

Industrial relations

See the industrial relations page for information on the current enterprise agreement.

Victorian Nurse Practitioner Prescribing

The ‘Victorian Nurse Practitioner Prescribing Arrangements’ consultation undertaken between October and December 2019 asked Victorians to respond to a survey regarding the safety and risks associated with a new Ministerial approval governing Victoria’s NP prescribing rights. A Summary Report including all quantitative data and key themes was released, July 23 2020.

After further consultation with stakeholders, it was agreed that a new Ministerial approval be published in the Victoria Government Gazette, authorising Victorian NP to obtain, use, sell or supply any Schedule 2,3,4 or 8 poison within their scope of practice. This approval removes predetermined formularies and the need for an associated notation on a Victorian NPs registration.

The new Ministerial approval was published in General Gazette Number G29, dated 23 July 2020, revoking all previous approvals. For more information, download the FAQ page below which will guide Victorian NP, employers and other stakeholders.

For a National perspective, visit the Professional Codes & Guidelines and Factsheets pages developed by the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA).

For further guidance regarding the regulatory and legislative impacts of the new approval governing health practitioner prescribing in Victoria, see Drugs and Poisons.

Nurse Practitioner Scholarships

The Victorian Nurse Practitioner Program (VNPP) scholarship program has been combined with other postgraduate nursing and midwifery scholarships.
Further information, see Postgraduate nursing and midwifery scholarships.

NMBA endorsement standards for NPs

The NMBA has published the approved Registration Standard for endorsement as a NP. All queries regarding the application process should be directed to the NMBA. Access to Medicare Benefits Scheme and Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.

For information about how to register with Medicare to access the Medicare Benefits Scheme (MBS), see the Medicare website.

For information about the drugs NPs can access through the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) rebate, see the PBS website.

Nurse Practitioner Collaboratives / Community of practice

Based on previous Nurse Practitioner funding rounds, the presence of a collaborative network can assist individual sites and candidates to develop and implement NP models of care and provide support to individual candidates. Find out more about the Nurse Practitioner Collaboratives / Community of practice 

If you are working in a Victorian public health service, you may be eligible for a scholarship to support you to undertake postgraduate study.

The department funds these scholarships directly to Victorian public health services.

Victorian public health services are responsible for determining the priority areas of practice, processing applications, selecting candidates and administering the scholarships. Priority areas are based on workforce shortages and projected demand in areas of clinical practice.

Information regarding all scholarships, including eligibility and conditions, is available in the training and development funding guidelines.

How to apply

For further information and to apply for a scholarship, contact your employer (Director of Nursing and Midwifery/Chief Nursing Officer or education unit) directly.

The Training and Development grant (T&D grant) supplements the costs associated with the teaching, training and research activities undertaken by public health services. Specifically, the nursing and midwifery component of the T&D grant supports the delivery of early graduate programs and the clinical component of postgraduate nursing and midwifery education.

The T&D grant (nursing and midwifery) has been streamlined and now comprises two streams:

• graduate nurse and midwifery programs that support and nurture nursing and midwifery graduates in the first year of employment and practice
• postgraduate nursing and midwifery education that supports the clinical component of postgraduate education programs (where a supervised or supported clinical training component is required for program completion, including midwifery).