General Practice Nursing: A New Dimension in Primary Health Care
Duration: 62 minutes
Program ID: 916 | Purchase Price: $105.00 (DVD)
Practice nursing presents some great opportunities and viable alternatives for primary health care. Health workforce shortages have for some time caused concern in Australia. A number of studies have emphasised an underlying need to develop a more sustainable and responsive health workforce, while maintaining a commitment to high quality and safe health outcomes.
In attempting to address health workforce shortages generally and medical workforce shortages in particular, the Australian Government has introduced a number of initiatives including regulatory restrictions and incentive payments. Some of these have involved programs that encourage development of the practice nurse specialisation.
The term ‘practice nurse’ is generally applied to qualified nurses who are employed by medical general practices. Practice nursing is a relatively new area of nursing specialisation in Australia. 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 little acknowledgement of the special skills nurses need to work in Australian general practice and almost no formal education to prepare and support nurses in the practice nursing. For some time there was also speculation in 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.
This program discusses the professional issues in practice nursing. Suitable models of practice, training and education, indemnity, and the wide variation of roles among practice nurses are also discussed. The strengths and opportunities in practice nursing are explored, as well as the barriers to the further development of practice nursing.
Program Presenters
- Chair: Dr Norman Swan - Presenter of the Health Report on ABC Radio National
- Ms Julianne Badenoch - Board Director, Australian Practice Nursing Association
- Dr Brian Bowring - General Practitioner, George Town, Tasmania and Chair, Rural Health Education Foundation.
- Ms Julie Porritt - Program Manager Nursing in General Practice with GP NSW
- Ms Lynne Walker - Post Graduate Subject Coordinator, Department of General Practice, University of Melbourne VIC
Learning Outcomes
- Identify the various roles of practice nurses in primary health care
- Plan and align practice nurse roles with the Competency Standards for Nursing in General Practice
- Understand protocols relevant to practice nursing that assist in building general practice capacity
- Identify and access resources and incentives (e.g. PNI Practice Nursing Incentive) that support practice nursing
Broadcast Dates
This program was first broadcast on the Foundation's satellite network on Tuesday 24 November 2009.
Funding Bodies
Funding has been provided by the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing.
Accreditation
This program is accredited or endorsed for CPD/CPE by the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine, the Royal College of Nursing Australia and the Australian Physiotherapy Association.
