Professional leadership

Nurse leaders improving care and driving change

Nurses deliver palliative care in a wide range of settings, from homes and residential aged care facilities to hospitals and hospices. They make up the largest component of the palliative care workforce.

This role is becoming increasingly important with the growing demand for palliative care in parallel with population ageing.

In Australia, there are several guiding documents which inform the elements of quality palliative care nursing:

• Palliative Care Australia National Standards 5th edition (358kb pdf) for specialist palliative care
• Palliative Care Australia National Palliative Care Standards for All Health Professionals and Aged Care Services (394kb pdf)
• Palliative Care Australia Service Development Guidelines (340kb pdf)
• Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care National Consensus Statement: Essential elements for safe and high-quality end-of-life care
• National Safety and Quality Health Service (NSQHS) Standards
• Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) Standards
• Registered nurse standards for practice (99kb pdf)
• Nurse practitioner standards for practice (106kb pdf)

Each recognise the importance of nurse leadership.

Nurse leaders can:

• improve care by embedding evidence-based practice, being involved in research, driving innovation or policy change.
• mentor less-experienced nurses
• provide opportunities for education or training
• foster nursing or interdisciplinary collaboration
• facilitate leadership development of other team members
• take a representative or advocacy role.

These leadership skills can positively influence the quality of care delivered at all levels and across settings.

The Australian College of Nursing Institute of Leadership supports nurses at all career stages to extend their leadership skills with a range of leadership development opportunities.