Practice nursing made perfect in November 24 simulcast
November 13, 2009A new Rural Health Education Foundation television program airing on Tuesday 24th November discusses the professional issues in general practice nursing, a relatively new area of nursing specialisation in Australia.
General Practice Nursing: A New Dimension in Primary Health Care looks at suitable models of practice, training and education, indemnity, and the wide variation of roles among practice nurses.
The hour-long program also explores the strengths and opportunities in practice nursing, as well as the barriers to its further development. It will be available both as a live satellite broadcast and simultaneous web-cast through the Foundation’s website.
A viable alternative for primary health care
“In the past, nursing in general practice was viewed by many as a part-time, peripheral form of nursing,” says Rural Health Education Foundation CEO Don Perlgut. “So there’s been scant acknowledgement of the special skills nurses actually need to work effectively in a general practice environment.”
“Our new program looks into how attitudes towards this entirely legitimate nursing specialisation are changing, and explores a range of other important issues, including the potential for practice nursing to contribute to the development of a more sustainable and responsive health workforce in Australia.”
Presented by an expert panel
The program format is a panel discussion chaired by Dr Norman Swan, Presenter of the Health Report on ABC Radio National. The panel of medical practitioners features Ms Julianne Badenoch, Board Director of the Australian Practice Nursing Association; Dr Brian Bowring, General Practitioner in George Town, Tasmania, and Chair of the Rural Health Education Foundation; Ms Julie Porritt, Principal Network Adviser Nursing in General Practice for the Australian General Practice Network; and Ms Lynne Walker, Post Graduate Subject Coordinator for the Department of General Practice at the University of Melbourne.
Program funding
General Practice Nursing: A New Dimension in Primary Health Care is funded by the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing.
Broadcast details
General Practice Nursing: A New Dimension in Primary Health Care will be broadcast across the Rural Health Education Foundation’s satellite television network on Tuesday 24th November at 8.00pm (AEDT), with repeats at 8.00pm Perth time that same evening (three hours later) and 12.30pm on Friday 27th November.
Available via satellite, as a web-cast, web-streaming and DVD
This program will be available for viewing live as a “simulcast” via the Foundation’s satellite network and via web-casting from our website. (Please register for the live web-cast in advance through the program summary).
DVD copies of this program will be available after the broadcast via our website. The program will also be available free on the Internet for viewing via web-streamed video or listening via an audio podcast.
About general practice nursing in Australia
The term ‘practice nurse’ generally applies to qualified nurses who are employed by medical general practices. Practice nursing in Australia traditionally has been a means through which nurses have been able to accommodate family commitments by engaging in part time employment which has not involved shift work.
Consequently, there has been almost no formal education to prepare and support nurses in the practice nursing. For some time there was even speculation that practice nursing could be detrimental to nurses’ careers, as it was thought that professional competency could possibly be diminished as a result of working in general practice. These attitudes are gradually changing.
More information
For more information about this program - including presenter details, access instructions and associated educational resources – refer to the online program summary or contact the Foundation.