Nursing & Midwifery Credentialing

Nursing and Midwifery Credentialing

Credentialing is the formal process used to verify the qualifications, experience, professional standing and other relevant professional attributes of nurses and midwives for the purpose of forming a view about their competence, performance and professional suitability to provide safe, high quality care within specific organisational environments.

Western Health’s nursing and midwifery workforce are professionally accountable to ensure that credentials for scope of practice are authenticated.

This is performed through a number of processes initially and ongoing:

Organisation level

• Position Descriptions establish core competencies required and duties to be undertaken
• Confirmation of current Ahpra professional registration

• • as part of initial appointment
  • monthly confirmation registration status utilising CGov platform

• Completion of health service wide orientation, mandatory training and discipline specific competencies

Unit level

• Completion of local area orientation and service specific competencies
• Performance review prior to probationary period ending
• Participation in annual performance and development review process
• Demonstrated evidence of ongoing professional development

For advanced or extended scope (i.e. complex clinical practices not traditionally within the scope of the profession) including Nurse Practitioners and Nurse Practitioner Candidates, a separate process exists whereby the Nursing and Midwifery Scope of Practice and Credentialing Committee are required to approve credentialing applications, review re-credentialing of approved roles at one year and then after every three years.

The Nursing and Midwifery Scope of Practice and Credentialing Committee meets quarterly (as a minimum) and has the following functions, including but not limited to:

• Review and endorse applications for new role of advanced or extended scope of practice and re-credentialing
• Review and endorse amendments to position descriptions for classification of nursing and midwifery roles Grade 3 or above (excluding Unit Managers and Associate Unit Managers)
• Review and endorse re-classification of roles according to change in scope of practice and/or alignment with nursing enterprise agreement
• Receive updates and maintain a central register of professional registration status of all nurses and midwives, including notification of restrictions or conditions; and those endorsed for advanced and extended scopes of clinical practices

For further information regarding this committee, please contact Lisa Gatzonis, Director of Nursing and Midwifery Workforce: lisa.gatzonis@wh.org.au or phone 8345 7144

For information regarding utilisation of cGov in the credentialing process, please contact the Nursing and Midwifery Credentialing Officer via email nmco@wh.org.au

Registration