Prof. Violeta Lopez, RN, RM, MNA, MPET, PhD, FRCNA is currently head, School of Nursing (NSW and ACT) Australian Catholic University. GFNR is privileged to interview her and she is kind enough to share her thoughts.
The challenges in the Australian nursing educationNursing education in Australia is a 3-year degree and if one wishes to pursue an honours degree, then it is undertaken for another year. However, entry into the honours degree depends on a high grade point average. The nursing profession was not successful in lobbying for a 4-year degree because of budget allocation for nurses. The government could only support for three years, hence, the 3-year program has been packed with subjects and clinical experience to cover all the necessary skills and competencies according to the Australian Nurses and Midwives Council (ANMC). Nevertheless, the education of Australian nurses remain to be comparable to that of other countries such as the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States and graduates could easily get a job in any other Commonwealth countries.
Postgraduate education, of course, is abundant with specialization in almost all fields of nursing. These courses range from Graduate Certificates to Doctoral level. Postgraduate qualifications are a requirement for entry to become Nurse Specialists, Nurse Consultants, and Nurse Practitioners. Double degrees are also a popular choice for undergraduate education. For example, Bachelor of Nursing/Bachelor of Midwifery, Bachelor of Nursing/Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Nursing/ Bachelor of Paramedicine; Bachelor of Nursing/Bachelor of Early Childhood Education, and many more. These courses range from four to five years.
As the Dean of the School of Nursing, I need to be always aware and also need to collaborate closely with our industry partners. I need to be on top of what are the educational needs to nurses that would provide them with the necessary qualifications deemed necessary for their promotions and advancement in the health care system. Partnership between universities and clinical setting is also important as our School establishes Clinical Chair Professors, a joint appointment between the hospital and the School where funding for the salary is shared equally. In our School, we have a Professor of Nursing Research with St. Vincent’s Mater Health and with RSL Lifecare (ageing). Another Clinical Chair Professor will be appointed with the Royal Ryde Rehabilitation Hospital. This initiative is only one of the many important strategies in increasing the research capacity of the School as both the academic staff and students have the opportunity to participate in research program of the Professors.
Internationalisation is also another important strategy in making sure that the School is able to also address the needs of international students and registered nurses. Our links are primarily with the Asia Pacific region such as Vanuatu, China, Philippines, Singapore, India, Sri Lanka, and Thailand and others that are within the European countries. Our partnership to these countries involved research as well as staff-student exchange. The School also has a large number of international students, both at undergraduate and graduate levels. They bring with them their rich culture and experiences that add so much wealth of information sharing and cultural exchange with the local students. However, they also need a lot of support and our university has provided them with services from the Academic Skills Unit, Counseling and Pastoral Care Unit and the International Office.
On Filipino nurses in Sydney
The Federal government has highlighted the nursing profession as a national priority and acknowledged the need to prepare more nursing professionals to meet the demands of the nursing shortage within the health care systems. The School of Nursing (NSW and ACT) continues to hold national and international standing and proud of the value that it promotes through its teaching, learning, research and community service. The School is distinctive as a regional institution that provides a number of entry opportunities into the Bachelor of Nursing program.
We are proud to announce that our School has a number of Filipino student nurses who are going through our course with excellent results. Filipino nurses are being sought after because of their conscientiousness, dedication, hard work, and loving care they provide to those in need of such care. The School endeavors to support them and at the same time applaud the Filipino nurses’ professionalism while facing various work challenges and sometimes discrimination in health care settings. However, they continue to stand strong and role model what ideal nursing and nurses are all about!
The Philippine Health Care Association – Australia Incorporated is one organization that supports healthcare professionals in Sydney through its regular meetings and activities. The work of its officers and members in upholding the image and promoting the welfare of Filipino health care workers in Australia are to be commended.
As the Head of the School of Nursing, I am proud to have Filipinos working in our School as nursing laboratory technicians. They are very reliable, industrious, committed and well-liked by academic staff as they give support to them during laboratory practice of nursing students. The School also has a huge number of international students mainly from Japan, Korea, China, India, Nepal, Africa, and of course the Philippines. Some of these Filipino students are registered nurse immigrants to Australia and requires to complete the one year course in order to register in New South Wales, while other Filipino nursing students are already Australian citizens enrolling in their first university degree.
Other Filipino nurses already hold managerial positions in hospitals, nursing homes, and community centres, while others do private agency work as their time commitments permit, especially those with young families. All I can say is that wherever Filipino nurses work, they are making their mark as hardworking and caring nurses who always strive to give their best showing the country what Filipino nurses are all about.
On her career journeyI left the Philippines in 1973 and worked as a Public Health supervisor in Laos with the United States Aid for International Development (US-AID). After evacuation, I migrated to Australia and settled in Sydney where I pursue postgraduate studies in Critical Care, Applied Physiology, and Clinical Teaching. Obtaining these qualifications enabled me to get a position as a Clinical Nurse Specialist in Intensive Care Unit. My academic career started in 1988 at Sydney University. While teaching full-time, I also did my Masters in Nursing Management, Masters in Professional Education and Training, and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD).
I also worked as a nurse consultant for the Australian International Development Program and was assigned in Malaysia to assist the nursing school at the University Sains Malaysia to develop the Diploma in Critical Care Nursing curriculum and the Bachelor of Nursing curriculum. I was also invited by the Ministry of Health in Oman to also assist them in developing the Diploma in Critical Care Nursing.
In 1997, I went to Hong Kong and worked as a Professor at the Nethersole School of Nursing, The Chinese University of Hong Kong. In 2006, I was invited to be the Head of the School at the Australian Catholic University, accepted the position and moved back to Sydney.
My career has been full of exciting experiences, with travels in almost all parts of the continent either as a consultant or speaker at conferences. As an academic, I teach mostly in postgraduate courses, research and statistics and evidence-based practice. My specialty clinical and research areas are in critical care including adult intensive care, accident and emergency and cardiothoracic nursing. My vast clinical experiences have given her a worldwide view of critical care nursing from the perspectives of students and registered nurses from Asia, Europe and North America. I am also the Associate Editor for Connect, the official journal of the World federation of Critical Care Nurses.
Examples of my research include: (1) Physical, psychological and social recovery patterns of Hong Kong patients after coronary artery bypass graft; (2) The relationship between sense of coherence on quality of life and coping ability following a critical illness among Hong Kong Chinese; (3) A randomized controlled trial for the cost-effectiveness of using Dermabond (2-Octyl cyanocrylate) versus suture in the lacerated wound closure; (4) Effects of music therapy on anxiety in ventilator-dependent patients; and (5) Measurement of testing of reliability and validity of Myocardial Infarction Dimensional Assessment Scale.
I like to publish my work in national and international refereed journals. At present, I have published more than 80 articles and have successful research grants of AUD $1.3 million. I co-authored a book on ECG interpretation which is being used by nursing students. I am a peer reviewer for numerous journals including the American Journal of Infection Control, European Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing, Journal of Clinical Nursing, Transcultural Nursing Journal, Research in Nursing and Health, Quality of Life Research, Australian Critical Care Journal, and many more.
