Senior nurse role expectations of graduate registered and enrolled nurses in Australia: Content analysis of open-ended survey questions

Abstract

Changes to educational preparation and scope of practice for enrolled nurses (ENs) in Australia have impacted on role expectations. This paper reports results of a survey of senior nurses in Victoria, Australia, regarding opinions of the differences in role expectation and scope of practice for graduate registered and ENs. Content analysis of open-ended survey questions was used to identify themes in the written data. Results identified education, skill level and responsibility as differences between the levels of graduate nurses despite many respondents perceiving there to be no or little difference in graduate roles.

Keywords:

• nursing
• content analysis
• enrolled nurse
• registered nurse
• role