When did nursing start in Australia?

Answer 1

Basic hospital facilities were provided when the first British settlement was established in Sydney in January 1788. The role of caring for the sick at this time was provided by convict women who had very little training in this area. In 1868 Lucy Osborn arrived in Australia from England, she was sent to Sydney by Florence Nightingale, and she established the first formal nursing school at what was then the Sydney Infirmary. During the later part of the 19th century similar nursing school were established in other Australian cities and the Nightingale model of nursing became firmly established in Australia for many decades. Today nurses undertake university degree training and have a wide variety or post-graduate and research options available to them. Nursing is also highly specialised and Australian nurses today enjoy above average pay, increasing autonomy and the ability to work in a multitude of environments. However Australia, like many countries, is facing a nursing shortage especially as our population ages and there is increased demand on our health system.