Two levels of nurse are employed in Australia to deliver patient care. Registered Nurses (RNs) have been regulated in the state of Victoria since 1923. Enrolled nurses (ENs) were introduced into the nursing workforce in the 1960s in response to economic pressures and shortages of RNs. The last ten years has seen significant changes to the scope of practice (SOP) of both ENs and RNs. Changes to the SOP of ENs, to enable them to utilise a larger skill set and undertake enhanced roles, have led to

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... modifications in their educational preparation, with preregistration education increasing from certificate to diploma level. The increasing number of skills and diversity of roles of ENs have led to overlapping of roles between ENs and RNs, resulting in role confusion and ambiguity between the two levels of nurse. However, little research has been undertaken to understand differences in educational preparation and resulting graduate role expectations of the two levels of nurse. In this thesis by partial publication, findings are reported from a multi-phase mixed methods research project which aimed to investigate differences and similarities in educational preparation and resulting role expectations of RNs and ENs in Victoria, Australia. The research utilised four separate phases to explore different perspectives: Phase 1: comparison of RN and EN curricula content, educational philosophies, curriculum design, and educational teaching and learning approaches; Phase 2: nursing course coordinator expectations of RN and EN student education and role outcomes; Phase 3: EN and RN nursing students' expectations of their graduate roles; and Phase 4: senior nurse expectations of graduate RN and EN roles on commencement to clinical practice. Analyses of data were undertaken using various techniques including thematic, content, descriptive and statistical analyses. Similarities were found between certificate, diploma and degree level nursing courses in terms of educational topics, basic patient care skills, and student role expectati [...]