Up, up and beyond
Show of hands - how many of us have read about the recommendations that have come out of the National Nursing Taskforce and gone, "Wow nurses have it so much better than us now"? Â Yes, we've all done that to some degree. Â
What DO the recommendations really mean for the nursing profession?  Let's take a closer look at the highlights of the 4 components or CARE (there must be someone 'up there' who comes up with acronyms for all governmental initiatives).
Career Development - With the re-designation of the top nursing job to Chief Nurse an additional layer has been created for promotion to Director, Nursing level ie. a large hospital can now have multiple DNs instead of just one. Â
The more exciting recommendation however, is the removal of the GPA required for Enrolled Nurses to enter the Advanced Diploma course required for them to move up the rank to be Registered Nurses. Those with at least three years in service and a strong recommendation from their supervisors now have a new career progression opportunity which brings with it a higher salary grade.
Acting Nurse Clinicians will also be recognised for the work they do with the introduction of an Assistant Nurse Clinician role. A permanent grade promotion, Assistant NCs will receive due recognition for their expanded portfolio in the wards.
Other recommendations in this segment include additional support for those who assume dual roles eg. Nurse Clinicians who also hold adjunct teaching positions, and the review for flexible and part-time work arrangements.
 Autonomy - The shortage of skilled healthcare professionals in Singapore is one that isn't likely to be resolved any time soon. Alongside skill advancements, greater autonomy will be awarded to nurses so that they can perform at the top of their licence. For example, Advanced Practice Nurses will be awarded prescribing rights so patients attended to by an APN no longer need to wait for their attending clinician to issue the prescription. Technology will also be further leveraged to empower nurses as they perform their duties and support care staff assisting nurses can expect more training opportunities to upskill.
Recognition – In this instance, specifically - money. While pride and passion are crucial, we all have bills to pay and stomachs to feed. Nurses can expect a 3-10% increase in their monthly base salary in 2014 and 2015 to bring their salaries up in line with what’s in the market. How was that amount determined? Independent Human Resource experts look at the skills required to perform nursing duties and benchmark that against other skilled roles across various industries to determine if they are under or (highly unlikely) overpaid. Nurses will also receive a special payment of 0.5 months in December of 2014 and 2015 and if they win national level awards such as President’s Award for Nurses, Nurses Merit Award or the Tan Chin Tuan Nurses Award, they can expect a higher quanta along with the award.
 Education – All the learning you get after becoming a nurse is on-the-job. Not. Continuous learning and research is required for nurses to deliver better evidence based patient care for improved outcomes. However, nurses’ training post-graduation can be fragmented. The National Council of Nursing Education that will be formed will oversee nursing education training and development to better support nurses acquire the required advanced knowledge, inquiry skills and leadership capabilities. End game – to help nurses improve care delivery.
Dr Pauline Tan, Chief Nursing Officer, Ministry of Health said, "This review of the nursing profession is a timely one, considering Singapore’s population challenges. Our nurses deserve the greater recognition and support for their work, which is critical to the healthcare sector. The upcoming initiatives will pave the way for our nurses to operate at the top of their competencies. I hope that this will also attract more people to join the sector and contribute to this very meaningful profession."
Indeed, if there ever was a good time to be a nurse, now would be it. However, along with the many recommendations comes greater expectations especially since many of these will be funded by public funds. All eyes are on our nurses. How’d you like to be in there shoes now?
To read more about the National Nursing Taskforce recommendations - http://www.moh.gov.sg/content/moh_web/home/pressRoom/highlights/2014/care-for-nurses.html