Midwifery and nursing honours programs in Australia and New Zealand: A scoping review of contemporary challenges and opportunities

Article

Shipton, Emma V., Kearney, Lauren, Delaney,Lori and Kilgour, Catherine. 2025. "Midwifery and nursing honours programs in Australia and New Zealand: A scoping review of contemporary challenges and opportunities ." Women and Birth. 37 (5). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wombi.2024.101641
Article Title

Midwifery and nursing honours programs in Australia and New Zealand: A scoping review of contemporary challenges and opportunities

ERA Journal ID30465
Article CategoryArticle
AuthorsShipton, Emma V., Kearney, Lauren, Delaney,Lori and Kilgour, Catherine
Journal TitleWomen and Birth
Journal Citation37 (5)
Article Number101641
Number of Pages10
Year2025
PublisherElsevier
Place of PublicationUnited Kingdom
ISSN1871-5192
1878-1799
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wombi.2024.101641
Web Address (URL)https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1871519224000891
Abstract

Problem
Contemporary resources that identify the challenges and experiences of Midwifery and Nursing honours students and providers within Australia and New Zealand are lacking.
Background
The establishment and development of accredited, tertiary education for Midwifery and Nursing has enhanced professionalism and opportunity. However, the progression from registration pathway programs to Higher Degrees by Research remain limited.
Aim
To undertake a scoping review of Australian and New Zealand honours programs and synthesise student and provider perspectives.
Methods
A scoping review was undertaken. Publicly available grey literature and relevant database searched. English language, peer-reviewed publications were identified from the past 10-years.
Findings
Within Australia, 16 universities, and 2 in New Zealand, offer a Midwifery and/or Nursing honours program. Within Australia, the majority of programs were offered in both Midwifery and Nursing streams, however only Nursing in New Zealand. Four studies met inclusion criteria and described strengths and challenges of the current offerings.
Discussion
Challenges included: logistical issues related to low/decreasing enrolments and resource. Students identified burdens associated with student driven research and balancing the multiple demands of clinical roles. Opportunities were seen in terms of providers professional interactions between academic and clinical sites. Students viewed honours programs as an opportunity to actively partake in research and determine their commitment to further research training including Doctor of Philosophy (PhD).
Conclusion
Progressing the professional status of both Midwifery and Nursing is based on discrete professional research and evidence. Honours programs provide a research focused degree to prepare nurses and midwives, but challenges are present.

KeywordsEducation; Honours programs; Midwifery; Nursing; Research pathways
Contains Sensitive ContentDoes not contain sensitive content
ANZSRC Field of Research 20204205. Nursing
4204. Midwifery
Byline AffiliationsUniversity of Queensland
Permalink -

https://research.usq.edu.au/item/zy1zx/midwifery-and-nursing-honours-programs-in-australia-and-new-zealand-a-scoping-review-of-contemporary-challenges-and-opportunities

Log in to edit

Download files

Published Version
1-s2.0-S1871519224000891_womenandbirth.pdf
License: CC BY 4.0
File access level: Anyone

  • 23
    total views
  • 7
    total downloads
  • 3
    views this month
  • 2
    downloads this month

Export as

Related outputs

Impact of clinical care on patient sleep in the intensive care
Islam, Ms Alyia and Delaney, Lori. 2025. "Impact of clinical care on patient sleep in the intensive care." Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Society/Australian College of Critical Care Nursing Intensive Care Annual Scientific meeting 2025. Christchurch, New Zealand 09 - 11 Apr 2025 United States. Elsevier.
A collaborative communities-of-practice methodology for environmental design research: A case study application in palliative care
Jonescu, Emil E., Farrell, Benjamin, Ramanayaka, Chamil Erik, Delaney, Lori, Litton, Edward, Uylaki, Talia J., Watts, Gareth, Brigham, Bella, Bellemore, Frances and Seah, Davinia. 2025. "A collaborative communities-of-practice methodology for environmental design research: A case study application in palliative care." Health Environments Research and Design Journal (HERD). https://doi.org/10.1177/19375867251365876
Sleep disturbance in ICU: A pathway to delirium
Delaney, L.J. and Elliott, Rosalind. 2025. "Sleep disturbance in ICU: A pathway to delirium." Intensive and Critical Care Nursing. 90. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iccn.2025.104138
The accuracy of simple, feasible alternatives to polysomnography for assessing sleep in intensive care: An observational study
Delaney, Lori J., Litton, Edward, Carol, H-C Carol, Lopez, Violeta and van Haren, Frank MP.. 2025. "The accuracy of simple, feasible alternatives to polysomnography for assessing sleep in intensive care: An observational study." Australian Critical Care. 36 (3), pp. 361-369. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aucc.2022.02.004
Intensive Care Registered Nurses knowledge, attitudes and perspectives of caring for patients with mental health conditions: A scoping review
Wilson, Claire, Kilgour, Catherine and Delaney, Lori J.. 2025. "Intensive Care Registered Nurses knowledge, attitudes and perspectives of caring for patients with mental health conditions: A scoping review." Nurse Education Today. 147. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2024.106557
Ending rheumatic heart disease in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities: A systematic review of prevention programs in Australia
Cai, Yumeng, Delaney, Lori J., Lynch, Debby, Cunninghame, Jacqueline, Takashima, Mari, Ullman, Amanda, Toombs, Maree, Martin, Antonella, Thompson, Kate, Maxwell, Karina, Moore, Jane, Kilgour, Catherine and Holland, Lorelle. 2025. "Ending rheumatic heart disease in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities: A systematic review of prevention programs in Australia ." First Nations Health and Wellbeing - The Lowitja Journal. 3. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fnhli.2024.100040
Preventing pressure injuries in intensive care unit patients compared to non-intensive care unit patients: Is it any different?
Coyer, Fiona, Delaney, Lori and Ingleman, D.J.. 2024. "Preventing pressure injuries in intensive care unit patients compared to non-intensive care unit patients: Is it any different?" Intensive and Critical Care Nursing. 81. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iccn.2023.103586
Teaching nursing students to respond to patient deterioration using a deliberate practice mastery learning approach: A feasibility study
Johnston, Sandra, Delaney, Lori, Gillan, Pauline, Theobald, Karen, Ramsbotham, Joanne and Tutticci, Naomi. 2024. "Teaching nursing students to respond to patient deterioration using a deliberate practice mastery learning approach: A feasibility study." Teaching and Learning in Nursing. 19 (1), pp. e225-e228. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.teln.2023.10.024
Mitigating Intensive Care Unit Noise: Design-Led Modeling Solutions, Calculated Acoustic Outcomes, and Cost Implications
Jonescu, Emil E., Fareel, Benjamin, Ramanayaka, Chamil Erik, White, Christopher, Costanzo, Giuseppe, Delaney, Lori, Hahn, Rebecca, Ferrier, Janet and Litton, Edward. 2024. "Mitigating Intensive Care Unit Noise: Design-Led Modeling Solutions, Calculated Acoustic Outcomes, and Cost Implications ." Health Environments Research and Design Journal (HERD). 17 (3), pp. 220-238. https://doi.org/10.1177/19375867241237501
Simulation strategies to Develop Undergraduate Nurses skills to identify patient deterioration. A quasi-experimental study
Tutticci, Naomi, Johnston, Sandra, Gillan, Pauline, McEnroe, Georgia, Lesse, Ryan, Currie, Jane, Ramsbotham, Joanne, Theobald, Karen and Delaney, Lori. 2024. "Simulation strategies to Develop Undergraduate Nurses skills to identify patient deterioration. A quasi-experimental study." Clinical Simulation in Nursing. 91. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecns.2024.101534
Quality in Healthcare: Assessing What We Do
Kilgour, Catherine and Delaney, Lori. 2024. Quality in Healthcare: Assessing What We Do . Australia. University of Queensland.
A quasi-experiential pilot study exploring the perception and performance of nursing students using a second-generation version of rapid cycle deliberate practice simulation
Tutticci, Naomi, Johnston, Sandra, Delaney, Lori, Gillan, Pauline, McEnroe, Georgina, Leese, Ryan, Ramsbotham, Joanne, Currie, Jane and Theobald, Karen. 2023. "A quasi-experiential pilot study exploring the perception and performance of nursing students using a second-generation version of rapid cycle deliberate practice simulation ." 19th National Nurse Education Conference (NNEC 2023). Gold Coast, Australia 07 - 09 Jun 2023 Australia.
Pressure injury prevention practice in Australian intensive care units: A national cross-sectional survey
Levido, Annabel, Fulbrook, Paul, Barakat-Johnson, Michelle, Campbell, Jill, Delaney, Lori, Latimer, Sharon, Walker, Rachel M., Wynne, Rochelle, Doubrovsky, Anna and Coyer, Fiona. 2023. "Pressure injury prevention practice in Australian intensive care units: A national cross-sectional survey." Australian Critical Care. 36 (2), pp. 186-194. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aucc.2021.11.004
Nursing Student's Perception and Performance Using Rapid Cycle Intentional Simulation: A Quasi-Experiential Pilot Study
Delaney, Lori, Tutticci, Naomi, Johnston, Sandra, Gillan, Pauline, Theobald, Karen, Ramsbotham, Joanne, McEnroe, Georgia, Leese, Ryan and Currie, Jane. 2023. "Nursing Student's Perception and Performance Using Rapid Cycle Intentional Simulation: A Quasi-Experiential Pilot Study." Clinical Simulation in Nursing. 80, pp. 35-45. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecns.2023.04.003
Does improving sleep for the critically ill reduce the incidence and duration of delirium? An evidence‐based review
Elliott, Rosalind and Delaney, Lori. 2023. "Does improving sleep for the critically ill reduce the incidence and duration of delirium? An evidence‐based review." Nursing in Critical Care. 28 (5), pp. 738-743. https://doi.org/10.1111/nicc.12906
Factors influencing nursing students' ability to recognise and respond to simulated patient deterioration: A scoping review
Gillan, Pauline C., Delaney, Lori, Tutticci, Naomi and Johnston, Sandra. 2022. "Factors influencing nursing students' ability to recognise and respond to simulated patient deterioration: A scoping review." Nurse Education in Practice. 62. https://doi.org/doi:10.1016/j.nepr.2022.103350
The Nexus Between Sleep Disturbance and Delirium Among Intensive Care Patients
Delaney, Lori, Litton, Edward and van Haren, Frank. 2021. "The Nexus Between Sleep Disturbance and Delirium Among Intensive Care Patients." Critical Care Nursing Clinics of North America. 33 (2), pp. 155-171. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cnc.2021.01.001
The feasibility and reliability of actigraphy to monitor sleep in intensive care patients: an observational study
Delaney, L.J., Litton, E., Melehan, K.L., Huang, H.‑C. C., Lopez, V. and Van Haren, F.. 2021. "The feasibility and reliability of actigraphy to monitor sleep in intensive care patients: an observational study." Critical Care. 25 (1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13054-020-03447-8.
Exploring the application of mixed reality in Nurse education
Frost, Jane, Delaney, Lori and Fitzgerald, Robert. 2020. "Exploring the application of mixed reality in Nurse education." BMJ Simulation and Technology Enhanced Learning. 6 (4), pp. 214-219. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjstel-2019-000464
End-of-life care content in postgraduate critical care nursing programs: Structured telephone interviews to evaluate content-informing practice
Ranse, Kristen, Delaney, Lori, Ranse, Jamie, Coyer, Fiona and Yates, Patsy. 2020. "End-of-life care content in postgraduate critical care nursing programs: Structured telephone interviews to evaluate content-informing practice." Australian Critical Care. 33 (2), pp. 181-186. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aucc.2019.04.004
Nurse-Led Randomized Controlled Trials in the Perioperative Setting: A Scoping Review
Munday, Judy, Higgins, Niall, Mathew, Saira, Dalgleish, Lizanne, Batterbury, Anthony S, Burgess, Luke, Campbell, Jill, Delaney, Lori J, Griffin, Bronwyn R, Hughes, James A, Ingleman, Jessica, Keogh, Samantha and Coyer, Fiona. 2020. "Nurse-Led Randomized Controlled Trials in the Perioperative Setting: A Scoping Review." Journal of Multidisciplinary Healthcare. 13, pp. 647-660. https://doi.org/10.2147/JMDH.S255785
Rights of the Critically Ill Patient: Position Statement of the World Federation of Critical Care Nurses
Yeager, Susan, Papathanassoglou, Elizabeth, Brooks, Laura, Delaney, Lori, Livesay, Sarah, Lopez, Violeta, Northam, Holly, Mitchell, Kay and Vollman, Kathleen. 2019. "Rights of the Critically Ill Patient: Position Statement of the World Federation of Critical Care Nurses." Connect: The World of Critical Care Nursing. 13 (2), pp. 58-70. https://doi.org/10.1891/1748-6254.13.2.58
End-of-life care in postgraduate critical care nurse curricula: An evaluation of current content informing practice.
Ranse, Kristen, Delaney, Lori, Ranse, Jamie, Coyer, Fiona and Yates, Patsy. 2019. " End-of-life care in postgraduate critical care nurse curricula: An evaluation of current content informing practice. " Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Society/Australian College of Critical Care Nursing Intensive Care Annual Scientific meeting 2024. Brisbane, Australia 10 - 12 Apr 2024 United States. Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aucc.2018.11.055
The effectiveness of noise interventions in the ICU
Delaney, Lori, Litton, Edward and van Haren , Frank. 2019. "The effectiveness of noise interventions in the ICU." Current Opinion in Anaesthesiology. 32 (2), pp. 144-149. https://doi.org/10.1097/ACO.0000000000000708
Patient-centred care as an approach to improving health care in Australia
Delaney, Lori Jo. 2018. "Patient-centred care as an approach to improving health care in Australia." Collegian: The Australian Journal of Nursing Practice, Scholarship and Research. 25 (1), pp. 119-123. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.colegn.2017.02.005
Investigating the application of motion accelerometers as a sleep monitoring technique and the clinical burden of the intensive care environment on sleep quality: study protocol for a prospective observational study in Australia
Delaney, Lori J, Currie, Marian J, Huang, Hsin-Chia Carol, Litton, Edward, Wibrow, Bradley, Lopez, Violeta and van Haren, Frank. 2018. "Investigating the application of motion accelerometers as a sleep monitoring technique and the clinical burden of the intensive care environment on sleep quality: study protocol for a prospective observational study in Australia ." BMJ Open. 8 (1). https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2017-019704
Nursing students' experience in performing intimate clinical procedures via high fidelity Mask-Ed simulation
Frost, Jane and Delaney, Lori. 2018. "Nursing students' experience in performing intimate clinical procedures via high fidelity Mask-Ed simulation." BMJ Simulation and Technology Enhanced Learning. 5 (2), pp. 73-77. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjstel-2017-000293
"They can rest at home": an observational study of patients' quality of sleep in an Australian hospital
Delaney, Lori J., Currie, Marian J., Huang, Hsin-Chia Carol, Lopez, Violeta and van Haren, Frank. 2018. ""They can rest at home": an observational study of patients' quality of sleep in an Australian hospital ." BMC Health Services Research. 18. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-018-320
Responsiveness of Non-invasive Continuous Cardiac Output Monitoring during the Valsalva manoeuvre
Delaney, L.J., Bellomo, R. and van Haren, F.. 2018. "Responsiveness of Non-invasive Continuous Cardiac Output Monitoring during the Valsalva manoeuvre." Clinical Nursing Research. 29 (2), pp. 127-132. https://doi.org/10.1177/1054773818762878