On International Nurses Day, the Royal Australian College of GPs (RACGP) has highlighted the vital role nurses play in ensuring patients can access multidisciplinary team care in general practice.
The RACGP is working with the Australian Primary Health Care Nurses Association (APNA) to grow the capacity of nurses to contribute to patient care as part of the Building Nurse Capacity (BNC) program.
The RACGP's latest Health of the Nation report found 88% of responding GPs agreed practice nurses benefit patient health when embedded in general practice teams.
RACGP President Dr Michael Wright said: "Nurses bring essential skills and expertise to our practices.
"Our nursing colleagues complement the care provided by GPs, leading to fantastic results for our patients' health outcomes and the efficiency of our practices.
"As members of the general practice team, practice nurses enable us to provide comprehensive and holistic care for our patients.
"The relationship between GPs and nurses in private practice is built on trust, mutual respect, and collaboration. As part of the primary care team, nurses provide essential care including health assessments, triage for our patients, administering medications, and procedures like wound dressings and vaccinations.
"This improves access to comprehensive and coordinated care.
"With more Australians living with chronic disease and our ageing population, nurses' role in chronic disease management, care coordination, health promotion, and preventive health will be vital to ensuring all patients can access quality care from their general practice."
