The transition from student nurse to Registered Nurse Grade 1 is a difficult journey for many graduates. New graduates experience issues related to reality shock, socialisation, confidence and the theory practice gap. It is well recognised that graduates require extensive support and development throughout this very difficult time. In Victoria graduate nurse programs are a recognised vessel to deliver this support. Quality graduate programs which meet the satisfaction of graduate nurses are required to provide effective support. The implications of minimal support are enormous and can lead to graduates leaving the profession. There is much in the literature suggesting the importance of each of the varied components of graduate programs however there is minimal comparisons made between various programs. As a result it was difficult to measure the qualities of programs. The purpose of this study was to explore and compare various graduate nurse programs and identify whether the programs were satisfying the needs of graduate nurses. An exploratory descriptive design was utilised and a written questionnaire was employed to gain data. The findings of this research indicated that the delivery of graduate nurse programs within this study were not consistent in content and quality. Overall graduates were satisfied with their graduate nurse program although they identified there were areas which required improvement. This project has suggested that the analysis of graduate nurse satisfaction is vital in identifying quality programs that retain graduates. It is essential that ongoing evaluation of programs are completed by graduate nurses to ensure they are satisfying their needs and thus retaining them within the nursing profession

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National trends in nurse education have changed from the Nightingale system of on-the-job training to a professional preparation in institutions of higher learning. Western Australia was one of the first States in Australia to commence a professional preparation of nurses at an institution of higher education in 1975. Graduates of the program were presented with their Bachelor of Applied Science from the Western Australian Institute of Technology (now Curtin University of Technology), in March 1979. This thesis seeks to answer the question concerning the genesis of such an event. The focus of the study is primarily to follow the progress of general nurse education in Western Australia and to highlight the accompanying influences that shaped its development. The purpose of this study was to explore, analyse, interpret and describe the history of nurse education in Western Australia from 1962-1975. The study used a pluralistic approach employing a variety of historical methods. The research commenced with broad questions and ideas developed from documents and people. The process of data collection, historical criticism and analysis took place simultaneously. The synthesis was written as a chronological narrative. The material of the study thus 'spoke' for itself by providing answers to questions raised during the investigation. The history of nurse education from 1962 to 1975 revealed visible milestones that represented nurse education reform. Beginning from the antecedents of the study these were the sanctioning of a review of nurse training in 1960 together with the commencement of the Western Australian Nursing Survey and the appointment of the Nurses Registration Board Education Officer. In 1962 the survey was completed. / It exposed the deficits of nurse training which led to the development of a new Hospital Based Diploma curriculum and an Associate Diploma in Nursing in 1966. The establishment of the College of Nursing Australia Western Australian Branch in 1966 paved the way to solve the shortage of tutors to implement the Hospital Based Diploma. The Nurses Act in 1970 enhanced the plans for implementing the Hospital Based Diploma and conferred autonomy to the Nurses Registration Board. In 1973 the first independent school of nursing came into being. The Western Australian School of Nursing carried the hopes of a continuation of hospital nurse training. In 1974, however, the entry of students to the Western Australian Institute of Technology School of Nursing saw a turn of events that led to a degree for nurses in 1975 and a decision for the transfer of all nurse education in Western Australia to the Western Australian Institute of Technology. These milestones did not emerge as an accident of history. There were forces that facilitated and impeded the perceptibility of the reform landmarks. These were crucial in the shaping the history of nurse education in Western Australia from 1962-1975.

The impetus for this study derived from a policy document of the English National Board (ENB 1985a) which raised the notion of 'peer review of courses', and from personal experience of some of the first Project 2000 validation events. The development of a national peer review process would be a radical departure from the existing closed mechanism of course approval by the statutory body. At the validation events for Project 2000, nursing as a subject, seemed to be avoided. For me this raised questions as to what these validation events were achieving. The study begins by introducing the theoretical framework which was central to understanding how knowledge for nurses has been developed and approved. This incorporates notions of power (Lukes (1974), the sociology of knowledge, and communication (Habermas 1970). Strategic power has been exercised over nurses through patriarchal strategies to control nurses work and access to knowledge, and legitimately by nursing's statutory body to approve pre-registration courses. The advent of Project 2000 courses required conjoint validation with higher education. The change in the approval process has enabled shifts in power relations to occur. Since knowledge claims are part of what is validated through academic debate, the question raised was "how do nurses account for nursing know ledge and how is this recognised at validation events?" The nature of the data to be collected and analysed was informed by the theoretical framework and the research methodology, discourse analysis (Potter & Wetherell 1987). Data included; literature that provided historical and contemporary information about the development of 'knowledge for nurses', 'nursing knowledge' and validation; official circulars from the statutory body related to curriculum development for Project 2000; course documentation presented at four validation events; the official reports from those events; field notes of the validation events. Discourse analysis is concerned with language use and aims to explore the subtleties and complexities of technical explanations in natural contexts. It focuses both on the variation and construction of accounts and involves developing hypotheses about the purposes and consequences of language. The first stage of the analysis revealed that validation discourse was constructed through the use of four interpretive repertoires. The' assimilatory' and' accommodatory' repertoires were used to demonstrate how ways of working either did or did not follow agreed procedures/rules. The 'accounting through theories' and 'accounting for (nursing) educational processes' repertoires were used to account and not account for nursing. The second stage explored the function of the repertoires. One pair of competing repertoires were used to either exercise power or create conflict. Conflict was also created when the repertoires came together. A voiding this was worked hard at by validators and validatees and was achieved through an 'appeal to a higher authority' device. The second pair of repertoires ensured that whilst certain aspects of nursing were discussed, practice knowledge was avoided. The repertoires were also used to prevent certain issues getting on the validation agenda, significantly practice knowledge. The validation events were arenas in which the use of strategic power and communication dominated. Their use illuminated issues which constrained validators and validatees, and which militated against the notion that validation was conducted by peers in an 'ideal speech situation'. There is discussion of ways in which discourse analysis and critical theory can be brought together to capture practice knowledge and emancipate the discipline of nursing

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