Specialist education and practicein nursing: an Australian perspective

In this paper, we argue that specialist nurses occupy a strategic position in the Australian health caresystem and will continue to do so in the future. From a careful consideration of the literature describing past, present and future nursing practice and education, we conclude that specialist nurses with appropriate skills gained through lifelong learning and experience are the nurses to lead and foster the future practice of nursing. The role of current nurse educators is to provide time-sensitive education programmes that will facilitate the development of such skills.