Identifying how enrolled nurses meet requisite national practice standards: A quality initiative

Background: Current practice settings are increasingly complex requiring that enrolled nurses (ENs) and registered nurses (RNs) effectively work with each other to optimise health care delivery and improve patient outcomes. In Australia, professional standards endorsed by the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) define the expected practice and conduct of nurses and midwives. Aim: To improve workplace interaction through direct care nurses explaining their understanding of the workplace performance of ENs that align with the NMBA EN standards for practice using professional development sessions. Methods: This quality initiative used participatory and inquiry-based approaches. A series of five professional development sessions (referred to as ‘inservice sessions’) were facilitated by two nurse educators over a six-week period. Direct-care nurses from generalist medical and surgical units participated in the interactive sessions with EN and RN groups facilitated separately. Results: Analysis of the direct-care nurses discussions resulted in the articulation of a list of plain language behavioural statements or ‘cues’ that reflected EN work practices and aligned with the EN standards for practice. Conclusion: This quality initiative provides insight into the novel use of routine inservice sessions—beyond the traditional transmission of information—to participatory collaboration that contributes to a shared understanding of workplace practices and applied scholarship aiding the advancement of the nursing profession. © 2020 Australian College of Nursing Ltd