ISSUES IN NURSE PRACTITIONER DEVELOPMENTS IN AUSTRALIA

Abstract

The nurse practitioner level of health care is one of the most important developments in nursing in the past 30 years and marks the opportunity for significant reform in the Australian health care industry. Nurse practitioners, whilst well established in North America, the United Kingdom and parts of Europe, are a relatively recent development in Australia. The introduction of the nurse practitioner level of service is a function of state rather than national government and consequently the implementation throughout Australia has been gradual, with title protection and practice privileges now legislated in five states over a 15-year period. Despite this rather long lead-in time, there remains confusion and uncertainty relating to the role and function of the nurse practitioner within nursing, other health disciplines and most importantly, the community of health care consumers. The aim of this paper therefore, is to reduce the confusion and uncertainty and provide information for nurses, medical and allied health professionals about this innovative level of health care. The preparation and introduction of a new level of health care into existing systems is a complex and multifaceted undertaking. In this paper I focus on four issues that are currently influencing the progress of the nurse practitioner in Australia. These are definitional issues, the research base, Australian state and national development and role development.