VPRS 19277 Nursing Division, Correspondence Files

This series comprises correspondence files of the Royal Melbourne Hospital Nursing Division. Included are various reports, papers and letters regarding matters relating to nursing, nurse education, work conditions, scholarships, and awards. Topics of discussion include: Position descriptions Nurse staffing Strategic planning Study of Professional Issues in Nursing Royal Australian Nursing Federation Workplace relations and conditions Scholarships and awards Overseas study tours Association of Directors of Nursing Victoria Australian College of Nursing The correspondence file regarding the proposed Australian College of Nursing represents an early example of the development of postgraduate nursing education in Victoria. Discussed in the file are minutes of the Executive Committee form in tin 1933 to investigate the establishment of a postgraduate Diploma of Nursing at the University of Melbourne. This committee was chaired by then Lady Superintendent Jane Bell and discussed facilities, constitution, and curriculum. Although the Committee was unsuccessful in establishing a college, The College of Nursing Australia was eventually founded in Victoria in 1949. Royal Australian Nursing Federation and Workplace Relations Several records in this series detail grievances of the hospital’s nurses that contributed to the nurse’s strike of 1986 – the longest strike to take in place in Victoria up to that point—as well as nursing career structure, unrest within the hospital nursing staff, and correspondence from the Royal Australian Nursing Federation, Victorian Branch about actions, claims and proposals for settlement of the dispute and strike. Also included are reports and correspondence about the hospital’s actions to mitigate the effects of the strike including bed closures, shift staffing changes and allocation of staff for non-nursing duties. Nursing Awards and Overseas Study Included in the series is correspondence and reports regarding various nursing awards, scholarships and overseas study tours. Overseas study was often funded by the Lynly Aitken Travelling Fellowship, established 1976, the June Allen Award, established 1983, or the Jane Bell Scholarship. Reports of these funded study tours are included in this series and outline facilities, services and processes observed in other hospitals and how these observations can improve the hospital’s services. The June Allen Award was established to fund overseas travel to study an aspect of clinical nursing; the Lynly Aitken Travelling Scholarship was established to enable a nurse to gain further knowledge or experience through travel in Australia or overseas; and the Jane Bell Scholarship was for nursing education, at times for the best post-basic nursing student in the operating room course, and later included overseas travel or attendance at conferences. Association of Directors of Nursing Victoria Correspondence regarding the Association of Directors of Nursing Victoria records include Committee of Management minutes and papers, and Research and Development Sub-Committee minutes and papers. This group comprised the Nursing Directors or Matrons of Victorian hospitals who met to discuss common issues and strategies across nursing and the hospital system.