title: The structure of nursing: a national examination of titles and practice profiles.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To identify the practice patterns of the Australian registered nurse workforce according to position title and to map these disparate titles across all jurisdictions of the country.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Effective nursing workforce planning can contribute to improved patient care and increased effectiveness and efficiency of healthcare systems.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  The prevailing approach to nursing workforce planning focuses on number of nursing staff needed in relation to the number of patients. The level of expertise and skill mix of registered nurses as a variable in workforce planning is rarely considered.
  
  
  METHODS
  A national cross-sectional electronic survey of registered nurses in Australia was conducted using the validated Advanced Practice Role Delineation tool developed from the Strong Model of Advanced Practice. The study involved a sample of 5599 registered nurses.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Sixty-six nursing position titles nationally were mapped using cluster analysis technique and gave rise to seven clusters of equivalent Australian jurisdictional nursing position titles and practice profiles.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Effective workforce policy and planning is reliant upon access to reliable evidence. This research is an international first in that it has provided comprehensive knowledge of the clinical level and practice profiles of a national nursing workforce.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Effective, patient-centred workforce planning must consider both the numerical and expertise mix of a nursing workforce. This research provides Australian health service and policy planners with evidence-base knowledge of the nursing workforce. Internationally, this research establishes a platform from which to develop validated tools and established processes to support replication of this research.
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, Institute for Health & Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gardner
authors.affiliation: Nursing and Health Services Management, Centre for Health Services Management, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Duffield
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Doubrovsky
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
authors.forename: U T
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5692-0138
authors.initials: UT
authors.lastname: Bui
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, Institute for Health & Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Adams
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001315:Australia; D002983:Clinical Competence; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006291:Health Policy; D006801:Humans; D007587:Job Description; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009740:Nursing Staff / Q000458:organization & administration*; D057184:Practice Patterns, Nurses'; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Cluster Analysis; Cross-Sectional Survey; Health Workforce Policy; Nursing Policy; Nursing Position Titles; Nursing Workforce