WP/SEAR
Welcome to the Western Pacific and South East Asian Region (WP/SEAR) web pages! We hope you find the information contained here helpful and user friendly.
The ANMC is pleased to continue to provide secretariat support to the Nursing and Midwifery Regulatory Authorities of the Western Pacific and South East Asian Regions (WP/SEAR).
The purpose of WP/SEAR is to provide a forum for the development of productive relationships and networking between regulatory authorities in the region. Whilst some countries have well established regulatory frameworks in place, others are in the process of developing regulatory models, and there is much help which can be provided to assist those countries.
Meetings of member countries have been held biannually in different locations since 1996, with specific outcomes achieved at each meeting.
A brief history of the meetings of WP/SEAR regulatory authorities
In 1993 the first International Standing Conference of Nurses Regulatory Authorities was held in Madrid, Spain. Following that meeting, numerous initiatives were proposed and biannual conferences planned. It was soon realised that regions should be established with regional meetings held to provide opportunities for local needs to be identified, and specific projects undertaken. Feedback would be provided to the international arena through the international biennial conference. In this part of the world, it was agreed to join two WHO regions for this purpose – the Western Pacific (WP) and the South East Asian Region (SEAR). The first meeting of this group was held in Wellington, New Zealand in 1996. The Australian Nursing Council (later to become the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Council) was appointed as secretariat for the regional meeting and subsequent work evolving from the meeting.
Click on the links below to view a brief summary of the meetings held so far, and the chief outcomes from these meetings.
- 1st Meeting Wellington, New Zealand 1996
- 2nd Meeting Brisbane, Australia 1998
- 3rd Meeting Bangkok, Thailand 2000
- 4th Meeting Hong Kong 2002
- 5th Meeting Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 2004
- 6th Meeting Wellington, New Zealand 2006
- 7th Meeting Singapore 2008
7th Meeting
Singapore, October 2008.
70 delegates attended from over 20 countries within the regions.
Purpose
Five key topics were examined under the meeting’s theme of ‘Supporting and Managing Change’;
- international meetings within the region and their outcomes
- ensuring competence through education
- shared experiences from mentors and mentees
- updates on nursing regulation in member countries and
- managing a changing regulatory environment
Outcomes
- To be provided shortly
Delegates at the 7th WP/SEAR meeting in Singapore, October 2008
6th Meeting
Wellington, New Zealand. September 2006.
Report from the 6th Meeting, Wellington, New Zealand. September 2006
Key Achievements – ten years on
Since the first WP/SEAR meeting in Wellington in 1996, there have been some major achievements.
In summary these are:
- Continued commitment to the biannual meetings
- Development of productive relationships and networking between regulatory authorities around the regions.
- Production of the Country Profiles.
- Development of the common competencies for the region.
Delegates at the 6th WP/SEAR meeting in Wellington, New Zealand, September 2006
5th Meeting
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 2004
50 delegates attended from 24 countries, with an additional 450 local delegates invited to attend part of the meeting.
Purpose
- To develop an understanding of evidence in relation to policy regulation.
- To analyse best practice as it relates to regulation.
- To discuss what evidence regulatory bodies are using to inform decision making.
Outcomes
- Endorsement of the regional competencies.
- Commitment that wherever possible regulators in the region will continue to share resources.
Purpose
- To continue exploring the concept of developing common competency standards for nurses in the regions.
- To share information.
- Progress an action plan developed to address regulatory issues for the regions.
Outcomes
- A successful pre-meeting workshop was held. Two topics were explored at the workshop. These were the establishment of a regulatory authority and processes for developing core competencies.
- A working group was established to progress the development of the regional common competencies.
- The framework for the biannual meetings was endorsed.
3rd Meeting
Bangkok, Thailand 2000
73 delegates attended the meeting from 21 countries.
Purpose
To consider and progress regional development of standards for regulation.
The meeting aimed to:
- be informed of the regulatory models which have been implemented in the region
- identify potential core nursing competencies for the region and
- develop a realistic action plan for addressing regulatory issues for the region.
Outcomes, Actions for Consideration
- Common competencies. Common competencies were agreed, and a steering committee was given the task of refining the competencies in time for the Western Pacific Ministers meeting.
- Framework for the meetings. It was agreed that the steering committee should develop a draft document outlining the mission, vision and governance of the biannual meeting for discussion at the next meeting.
- Country profiles. Delegates agreed to provide updated information on their country profiles to provide a resource to share information and experiences, to outline “common countries” and to track movement within the regions.
- Mentoring. It was agreed to explore mentoring between countries based on education, culture and the model of regulation.
- Funding. Delegates identified the need to continue to explore issues around allocating funding towards work by the WP/SEAR group.
- Delegates requested a pre-meeting technical workshop.
2nd Meeting
Brisbane, Australia 1998
65 Delegates attended from 23 countries.
Purpose
To agree on the means for addressing issues significant to the region in the next two years.
Workshops were held on:
- Reciprocity
- The scope of nursing practice and the unregulated care provider
- Professional conduct frameworks
Outcomes
- Reciprocity – an action plan was to be developed by delegates from Nepal, Australia, Thailand, Singapore, India, NZ for distribution to all delegates. Concurrently a subcommittee was to develop an action plan for countries without regulatory authorities to be incorporated into the overall action plan.
- Practice Issues - a position paper on scope of nursing practice and unregulated care workers was proposed. To action this, a survey was distributed to member countries to guide the development of a position. However, responses were so disparate that it was recommended that a position could not be developed at that time.
- Professional Conduct – it was proposed that a framework for data collection, a regional glossary, code of conduct for each country, and case study packages would be developed.
1st Meeting
Wellington, New Zealand 1996
Delegates attended from 10 Countries - Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Fiji, Nepal, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Thailand, Vanuatu, and Western Samoa.
Purpose
- To identify regulatory issues and opportunities which may arise in the next five to ten years that will impact on the region, and to identify actions for addressing issues at a regional level.
- To identify issues which could best be addressed by the International Steering Conference on the Regulation of Nursing and Midwifery.
Outcomes
The first meeting resulted in two resolutions:
1. It was agreed to support the statutory regulation of nurses and midwives in all countries in the region.
2. It was agreed that in countries in the WP/SEAR where there was no statutory regulation for nurses and midwives, governments should be urged to urgently take steps to enact the required legislation.
The meeting also endorsed the following principles:
1. The central purpose of statutory regulation is the protection of the public by ensuring competent and accessible nursing and midwifery care.
2. The regulatory framework provides:
- High standards of personal and professional growth and performance of nurses and midwives.
- A system of public sanction to practise as nurses and midwives.
- Gives nurses and midwives the ability to influence and respond to health needs and priorities.
The meeting also endorsed the principles of regulation determined by the ICN.
The meeting issued two communiqués. The first communiqué included the resolutions and the principles and the second stated:
The meeting of Nurse Regulatory Authorities from WP/SEAR recognises that the development of collaborative relationships within the profession and relevant organisations will promote awareness and consensus about health, nursing and midwifery issues in response to community needs.