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The nursing profession faces a number of significant workforce challenges. Both the nursing workforce and US population are aging, leading to a wave of nurse retirements and a simultaneous increase in need for health care, especially in long-term care settings. Furthermore, the current nursing workforce does not mirror the racial and ethnic diversity of the population. Released following the Center on Education and Skills New America (CESNA) report 'Apprenticeship and the future of nursing' [available in VOCEDplus at TD/TNC 137.1230], this guide aims to explore why and how apprenticeship could diversify the nursing workforce and increase academic and career progression for nurses. While apprenticeship may not be a silver bullet for workforce challenges, the model can lower financial and logistical barriers to entry and progression for those that may have felt such a career was out of reach.

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Nurses are critical to deliver on the promise of 'leaving no one behind' and the global effort to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). They make a central contribution to national and global targets related to a range of health priorities, including universal health coverage, mental health and noncommunicable diseases, emergency preparedness and response, patient safety, and the delivery of integrated, people-centred care. No global health agenda can be realized without concerted and sustained efforts to maximize the contributions of the nursing workforce and their roles within interprofessional health teams. To do so requires policy interventions that enable them to have maximum impact and effectiveness by optimizing nurses' scope and leadership, alongside accelerated investment in their education, skills and jobs. This report, developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) in partnership with the International Council of Nurses and the global Nursing Now campaign, and with the support of governments and wider partners, provides a compelling case on the value of the nursing workforce globally. The report reveals much to celebrate about the nursing workforce. Opportunities for advanced nursing education and enhanced professional roles, including at the policy level, can drive improvements in population health. At the same time, we continue to see vast inequities in the distribution of nurses around the world which we must address.

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The Department of Health announced an independent review of nursing education as a measure in the 2018/19 Federal Budget in May 2018. The present report represents the outcome of the various consultations, debates, and discussions. It covers the educational preparation of nurses, as well as the factors that influence people to choose nursing as an occupation. The report also looks at how other countries view Australian nursing education. The review found much that is excellent about nursing education, but it also found areas that could be improved. These include increasing the diversity of the nursing workforce, providing easily navigable career paths, fostering inter-professional collaboration, and ensuring that all nurses are adequately prepared for their roles. This report covers each of these topics and several related ones.

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This report represents a starting point for the Articulation and Recognition in Higher Education Initiative, an identified priority focus of the Industry Leaders Group for the [Health Skills Formation Strategy] HSFS. The initiative aims to ensure maximum articulation pathways are available between [vocational education and training] VET qualifications and higher education courses relating to health in Queensland. The report provides details about established articulation and reverse articulation arrangements between [registered training organisations] RTOs and higher education for nursing qualifications in Queensland. Whilst nursing has been an obvious starting point with its more established education pathways (in line with the National Review of Nursing Education 2006) it is recognised that other health careers also need to be targeted to ensure that well developed career and education pathways are available and promoted.

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Since the late 1990s, the UK government has a policy to support widening participation (WP) measures in UK universities. These measures aimed to increase the demographic and socio-economic profile of the undergraduate student population across all UK universities. The target for these measures includes a focus on mature applicants, women entrants, and ethnic minority representation. One such recognised qualification is that of an Access to Higher Education Diploma. The Access programme is usually undertaken by mature students, with no previous qualifications, who after successful completion of a one-year full-time course are then able to apply for an undergraduate course.

The research questions asked in this thesis are not around student retention, although this phenomenon provides a backdrop to the study, but around learner persistence by mature Access entrants on the UK pre-registration nursing programme. This research raises important questions about what is enabling mature entrants to persist on their programme, since data indicates that mature entrants account for 46 per cent of all nursing students who enter preregistration nursing programmes in the UK.

The study findings indicate that despite the known transition hurdles that result in some student nurses leaving their course early, the nine participants in this study were able to persist successfully on their programme. The study findings suggest that there are significant factors that have enabled these nine mature Access entrants to have a 'persistent' approach. These are the 'learner profile', 'on-programme' and 'environmental' factors and are presented as a framework for a grounded theory of mature learner persistence directly taken from the lived experiences of the nine individuals in this study.

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Over several years at a widening-participation institution, a successful pre-entry programme was developed to provide a diverse body of nursing students with the academic skills necessary for higher education (HE) transition. Restructuring and financial constraints led to the cancellation of the programme in 2011. This paper will report on research that aimed to evaluate the campus-based initiative and investigate the potential in developing an online/blended alternative.

As well as conducting interviews with participants and academic staff, a web-based learning development and peer-support blog was published and evaluated. Designed to provide support to new students undertaking clinical placements and completing assessments, the project was considered a 'pilot' for the provision of online academic skills support. The findings of both strongly suggest that opportunities to replace campus activities with blended versions are limited and, indeed, anathema to certain learners. Thus, inclusivity may be threatened and diversity potentially curtailed within the discourse of blended learning. Indeed, assumptions of digital literacy, the narrative of digital natives and the prioritising of reductive technology-enhanced learning may disenfranchise some learners.

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At a campus in a low socioeconomic (SES) area, [this] university allows enrolled nurses entry into the second year of a Bachelor of Nursing, but attrition is high. Using the factors, described by Yorke and Thomas (2003) to have a positive impact on the attrition of low SES students, [the authors] developed strategies to prepare the enrolled nurses for the pharmacology and bioscience units of a nursing degree with the aim of reducing their attrition. As a strategy, the introduction of review lectures of anatomy, physiology and microbiology, was associated with significantly reduced attrition rates. The subsequent introduction of a formative website activity of some basic concepts in bioscience and pharmacology, and a workshop addressing study skills and online resources, were associated with a further reduction in attrition rates of enrolled nursing students in a Bachelor of Nursing.

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In this paper [the authors] argue that enrolled nurses [ENs] enrolling in the Bachelor of Nursing at Murdoch University through a 'pathway' program face particular challenges and require a transition program specifically designed to meet their needs. Credit for their [vocational education and training] VET qualifications allows the ENs to enter at the second year, but in doing so they bypass the first year transition program. [The authors] began with a scoping questionnaire: writing assignments and using [information and communications technology] ICT emerged as the principal areas of concern; however childcare and finding sufficient time for study were also significant. Following the scoping study, a transition program was crafted focussing on relevant academic skills, and the formation of study groups to foster mutual support and encouragement was encouraged. This study suggests that universities and TAFEs need to collaborate more closely to ensure that 'pathway' programs do not become dead ends leaving students demoralised. University staff need to acknowledge the diversity of experience, as well as the knowledge and skills that the ENs bring to their studies as a consequence of their VET qualifications; and the VET staff need to recognise that an EN certificate is often the first stage in their students' learning journey and design programs with this in mind.

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The study of teaching and learning in accelerated nursing degree programs explores how nurse educators are adapting their teaching practices for accelerated, second-degree nursing program students. To provide findings on topics including instructional practices and the roles and attitudes of faculty, a web survey was administered to almost 100 staff members from schools of nursing that received grant and scholarship funds through the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's New Careers in Nursing program for accelerated nursing students. The study revealed that nursing school faculty have positive perceptions of working with accelerated nursing students and that instructional approaches do not differ much between traditional and nursing students. At the same time, the factors described as most predictive of accelerated nursing student success were noncognitive attributes such as motivation and commitment to the nursing profession; prior degrees in the science or health fields were not necessarily seen as predictive of the success of second-degree students working toward an accelerated bachelor's or master's degree in nursing.

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Students enter nursing degree programs through a variety of pathways. This article reports on a study that investigated the success and experience of these students. The aim was to determine any linkages between the pathway of entry in a preregistration nursing course and the academic achievements of these students. To achieve this aim, a descriptive correlational design was used to gather information from students enrolled in four different streams of a Bachelor of Nursing program over a 12-month period that were then compared with their academic records. Results suggest that students from different entry pathways can succeed at university provided they are supported and encouraged.

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