Study recommends Indonesia-Australia nursing collaboration to meet global health challenges
Addressing gaps in education, registration, and practice standards important to strengthen health professional standards and global competitiveness.
JAKARTA, 7 March 2023 – A newly released study by a consortium of leading Australian and Indonesian universities suggests nursing collaboration between the two regional neighbours could be the key to strengthening health professional standards and global competitiveness in Indonesia’s health sector.
A public discussion among national-level professional organisations for nursing in Indonesia on Tuesday (7/3) delved into detailed findings of the study entitled “Comparative Assessment of Nursing Standards in Indonesia and Australia”, which explores areas relevant to education, registration, and practice. The study was led by La Trobe University in Melbourne and conducted in partnership with experienced nurse academics and researchers from Universitas Airlangga, Universitas Hasanuddin, and Universitas Pelita Harapan.
Conducted in 2022, the research finds that while nursing preparation in Indonesia has been developing well and is in alignment with other countries, there are remaining gaps and variations relevant to core competency standards, and alignment of the licensure examination with nurse competence, among others. Such challenges would need to be addressed in order to enable the success of subsequent activities, which may include cross-country mobility and full-scope international practice recognition for Indonesian nurses.
Harif Fadhillah, Chair, Indonesian National Nurses Association, said, “The COVID-19 pandemic and current global health challenges have accelerated the evolution of the role of professional nurses. With broader scope of duties, nurses are required to possess real clinical experience and medical knowledge. Ensuring the quality of nursing is paramount to delivering high quality and responsive healthcare.”
The study was supported by Katalis, a program to help the Government of Indonesia and Australian Government implement the Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IA- CEPA).
Paul Bartlett, Director, Katalis said, “As part of the IA-CEPA, Indonesia and Australia have mutually decided to further strengthen their economic partnership in the health sector by undertaking work on strengthening Health Professional standards and competitiveness. The IA-CEPA’s Side letter on Improving Health Professional Standards and Access to Health Services specifically mandates work to assess how Indonesia’s nursing standards could be more aligned with Australia’s nursing standards. By supporting the ‘Comparative Assessment of Nursing Standards in Indonesia and Australia’ , Katalis seeks to lay the foundation for increased bilateral collaboration.”
Based on the action plans recommended in the study, Katalis will continue its support in building and establishing bilateral cooperation on nurse mobility between Indonesia and Australia.
Download full report: https://iacepa-katalis.org/comparative-assessment-of-nursing-standards-in-indonesia-and-australia/
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About Katalis
IA-CEPA ECP Katalis (Katalis) is a unique, five-year (2020-25) government-backed business development program unlocking the vast potential of economic partnership between Australia and Indonesia. Katalis was established under the Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement Economic Cooperation Program (IA-CEPA ECP). The program complements other Australian development programs with a commercially oriented, bilateral approach and places gender equality, disability and social inclusion (GEDSI) at the centre of everything we do.
About Indonesian National Nurses Association
The Indonesian National Nurses Association (PPNI) is a professional organisation that was established on March 17, 1974. Based in Jakarta, PPNI is a legal entity that aims to increase and maintain knowledge, skills, dignity and professional ethics for its members; as well as unite nurses nationally to support health development.
Information and media contact Adhi Fitri Dinastiar | +62 822 2685 4874 | adhi.dinastiar@iacepa-katalis.org
