Year-long accreditation process aims to put Nursing learners at the centre

The Diploma of Nursing is one of TasTAFE’s most popular courses, with more than 300 learners enrolled at our Alanvale, Clarence and Devonport campuses.

To be able to continue to offer this diploma, TasTAFE is required to maintain its Australian Nursing and Midwifery Accreditation Council (ANMAC) accreditation status.

Recently, TasTAFE successfully renewed this status by demonstrating that its program of study meets the 9 ANMAC standards, and by obtaining the approval of the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA).

Renewing this accreditation means TasTAFE can continue to provide enrolled nurse education that provides learners with the skills and training they need for jobs, now and into the future.

It also ensures our Diploma of Nursing graduates can apply for registration with the NMBA to work in health care settings as enrolled nurses.

Danielle Morgan, Head of Centre, Health, Education and Community Services at TasTAFE, said:

“Taking 12 months to renew our accreditation might seem a long time but it is definitely worthwhile because delivering our Diploma of Nursing is all part of our 10-Year Strategic Plan – putting learners at the centre to provide them with the training and skills they need to be able to work in a health care setting.

“For the accreditation that has just been renewed, there were visits to the 3 sites at which we offer the Nursing Diploma – Clarence, Devonport, and Launceston – as well as presentations against the 9 ANMAC standards on the following topics:

• introduction and the TasTAFE vision and strategic plan

• governance

• teaching and Learning

• quality improvement and risk management

• student support and cultural safety; and

• management of workplace experience.

“As part of the process, members of the ANMAC Assessment Team also met with members of the TasTAFE Industry Reference Group and with former and current students,” Danielle said.

Danielle said that all teachers, learning support tutors, technical employees and the Operations Manager played an important part in preparing for the ANMAC accreditation process. The wider team will continue to implement and maintain the ANMAC standards during the 5-year accreditation term.

“Those who worked on the accreditation process – they prepared and submitted extensive written documentation and who supported ANMAC Accreditors’ site visits – were Maree McCulloch, Andrea Hampton, Hayley Gerke, Kaye McDonald, Petrana Stokell and Jess Lanham.

“There were also many others, too numerous to mention, who supported this process.

“It was a real team effort with many parts of the organisation contributing to this successful outcome,” Danielle said.