Good Post Mellie.
I worked as an AiN for over a decade.
I have been lucky to work with some really 'old guard' nurses (they look like they belong in the CWA) who learned via the more practical approach of Training 'within' the Hospitals. They were really good with much common sense, personality and efficient methods without short-cutting due to either budget or laziness.
I've worked in many areas in the Health System and for an AiN, I did pretty well.
To me, I find that Assitant (in) Nursing is a great job.
My siblings went for Barwork but I found AiN more enjoyable and I managed to take it far for what it could offer.
It can be seen as an "Associated Job" like barwork, cleaning and waitering, amongst others ...low pay, flexible hours, casual rates, etc.
It can also be seen as an "Apprenticeship".
Saying this, I believe it should be structured as such much like most trades (trialed in one State at least ...?) with 3 years AiN Apprenticeship then onto Registered Nurse.
Why?
Well as an AiN, I found myself in many a Hospital having to show RN students "Basic Nursing Care". Like all University students - there is a 80% lack of practical skills and sometimes 'common sense' skills, I even experienced RN students refusing to "bedwash" because it was 'beneath' the RN rank
Maybe this is why Nursing is become so (physcially) "hard" these days? They are just not prepared for it.
Even the 'Old Guard' can see this.
By making AiN a 3 year Apprenticeship, it brings about a strong 'practical' approach and "Basic" Nursing Care skills.
It also introduces AiN as a 'supportive' financial role to Univeristy Study for Registered Nursing as I have experienced many RN Students working on the side outside of the medical field
I guess these Students do RN as a precursor to another Degree that they couldn't get into or use RN to get into another industry besides the Medical (like Airline Steward to name one)?
Such an Apprenticeship and Supporting Role that AiN can offer would swell employee numbers considerable.
I find E.N a total waste of input and for a while, everybody was doing E.N rather than AiN or RN ...because the TAFE Fees were considerably lower/cheaper than Uni. The TAFE's offered "employment" automatically and I think at a higher rate than AiN. You got paid more like an RN although your duties were mostly akin to AiN give or take the odd "pill" distribution cert.
EN had swelled the Middle-Class considerably and last I heard was that they were trying to stop EN getting PAID while studying or something otherwise ???
I also believe that the Medical Industry should be running its own show and not out-sourcing to the Universities who's real priority is just "paperwork" (and I saw the difference between Uni Artists and TAFE artists - Uni Artists knew a lot about Van Gogh, but TAFE Artists just got on with the job and painted their own thing).
Australian Medical Industry has TWO-THIRDS MORE PAPERWORK than any other nation.
Sadly the Public Medical System is a Political System (Think of Parliment House with a room called "Sick Bay") and the Private, although showing more Pro-Medical Independence than the Public is an absolute RORT for what little it offers.
I think Medics should stop running to Unions and going on strike ...and form their own Independent Medical expression with Medicine the priority rather than Accountancy and Politics.
Forget the constant payrises (RN's can earn up to $100 per hour
so much for being "underpaid"
) as they just go into 'pockets' and not results and this is what is happening there are no positive results from positive policies or advancements, etc. Everyone is getting a payrise upon a ship that is rusting.
Also, being the HEALTH industry - I'm kinda disgusted by the amount of Staff who practice 'unhealthy' recreational substance abuse like Drugs and alcohol. Of all the Industries, these acts are the most hypocritic and must be addressed and it is also these Medical Staff that shout the loudest for a payrise because the work is too hard (extra money for their fags).
These are just some of the things I find when I worked in what I call, 3rd World Medical that follows the advice of two nations that are more apt at winning WARS (USA/UK) - just because they speak the same language ("Hello - a lot of other nations can speak English too!
).
Personally, I think Australia should be medically following Switzerland for starters, with possibly Sweden, Germany, Cuba and New Zealand to follow - to name some.
until then.