The Australian Primary Health Care Nurses' Association (APNA) is today highlighting data that shows that nurses play a critical role in general practice, but there is an opportunity for them to do more if structural barriers are removed.
Practice nurses are a key component of multidisciplinary teams in general practice – they are the most common health professional apart from GPs, represented in 88% of multidisciplinary teams in general practice;
APNA's latest workforce survey data (2024) shows that 69% of nurses working in general practice regularly undertake care plan preparation and management;
Nurses also regularly undertake adult immunisation administration and management (89%), wound care assessment and management (87%), infection prevention and control (85%), and childhood immunisation administration and management (79%).
However only 29% of nurses working in general practice reported they work to their full scope of practice, which reflects inadequate utililsation of their broad skill set. Nurses who experience limitations on their scope of practice experience frustration and often seek work in other settings, or leave the profession. For those who rarely work to their full scope of practice, only 51% thought they were likely to remain in the workforce for more than two years.
"We know that nurses play a critical role, and if we break down barriers there's an opportunity to do so much more" said APNA President Denise Lyons.
"The data shows that almost a third of nurses working in general practice aren't working to their full scope of practice, and it has an impact on workforce retention.
"Better utilising the nursing workforce, particularly to support care coordination and preventative activities, can have a huge impact on the health of the community, and benefits for nurse's job satisfaction and workforce retention.
"Nurses in general practice are a highly trained, highly experienced workforce – but far too often funding structures and other barriers can mean they're not working to full scope of practice. We need policies that enable nurses to work to their full potential in multidisciplinary teams, and we need to adopt models of care that utilise our full health workforce effectively – both in general practice and across primary health care more broadly.
"With tighter health funding budgets and rising chronic disease, now more than ever it's important that we get the health policy settings right so that nurses can utillise their skills and make an even greater contribution.
About us:
About APNA
The Australian Primary Health Care Nurses Association (APNA) is the peak body and professional membership association for all nurses working outside of a hospital setting in Australia. APNA champions the role of primary health care nurses; to advance professional recognition, ensure workforce sustainability, nurture leadership in health, and optimise the role of nurses in patient-centred care.
APNA is bold, vibrant and future-focused. We reflect the views of our membership and the broader profession by bringing together nurses from across Australia to represent, advocate, promote and celebrate the achievements of nurses in primary health care.
APNA represents a significant and rapidly expanding workforce; primary health care nurses account for around one in eight of the 640,000 registered health professionals in Australia.
