Working across boundaries : an international perspective for nursing

"In 2005, Australia will celebrate the 20 th anniversary of the mass movement of nursing education to the tertiary sector. Changes of this magnitude became possible only because nurses had the capacity and desire to work together to achieve a common goal. During 2005 there will be many parties and dinners around the nation and these will times when ?old? friends and colleagues can reunite. Whilst this will be a time of great celebration, and rightly so, it must simultaneously be a time of reflection. In this reorganisation, the profession has had to make major adjustments and this along with the sustained professionalisation of health care services, means that the role of nursing and nurses continues to change and expand faster than ever. What better time to really reflect, and do so deeply and honestly, on what we have managed to get right and perhaps what we need to continue to work on. There are many areas that require great debate and further work, but one I feel is paramount if we really are going to continue to move our profession forward is the concept of a truly international nursing sorority."--p. 1.