The Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) now recognises that nurses with relevant qualifications may hold registration as both a Registered Nurse (RN) and as an Enrolled Nurse (EN).
Holding registration as both an RN and an EN is called concurrent registration.
A nurse holding concurrent registration should be mindful of the registration type under which they are employed, on each and every shift. This particularly applies for a nurse registered as both an RN and an EN who is employed as an EN. In this situation, the nurse needs to ensure they are working within the EN scope of practice and within their employment framework for an EN, including organisational policies and procedures.
Nurses must be able to differentiate between the relevant responsibilities and scope of practice for an RN or an EN. They should be able to articulate the differences to other health professionals, colleagues, and those to whom they provide care.
Employers must also clearly define the role the nurse is working in and colleagues must understand that role.
All parties must support the nurse to remain within the relevant responsibilities and scope of practice for the role they are undertaking, on each and every shift.
Be familiar with the standards for practice and scope of practice for both an RN and an EN
To minimise any potential situation that may put the individual concurrent registrant at risk, it is vital that nurses with concurrent registration fully understand the standards for practice and the scope of practice for both an RN and an EN.
Nurses holding concurrent registration must also meet the registration standards for both an RN and an EN. This is particularly relevant to the NMBA’s Recency of Practice standard and Continuing Professional Development (CPD) standard, when registration is renewed each year.
In order to meet and maintain the Recency of Practice standard, nurses concurrently registered must complete at least three months of full-time equivalent practice in the past five years as both an RN and an EN.
To meet CPD requirements, nurses holding concurrent registration must complete a minimum of 20 hours of CPD relevant to each registration (that is, a total of 40 hours). The NMBA recognises that some CPD activities might be relevant to both an RN and an EN and can be counted for each.
The ANMF recommends members with concurrent registration become familiar with the Enrolled nurse standards for practice (commenced 1 January 2016) and the Registered nurse standards for practice (effective 1 June 2016), particularly those standards that vary between the RN and EN.
Concurrent registrants should have a sound working knowledge of the NMBA’s Decision Making Framework, which provides guidance for making practice decisions as either an RN or an EN.
Download this ANMF Information Sheet on Concurrent Registration as RN and EN
