Nurses in Australian general practice: implications for chronic disease management.

Area of Science:

• Primary Care Nursing
• Health Workforce Research
• General Practice Specialization

Background:

• General practice nursing is an emerging specialty in Australia, unlike in the UK and NZ.
• Limited data exists on the Australian practice nurse workforce and their roles.
• Practice nurses are integral to primary care and chronic disease management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe demographic and employment characteristics of Australian practice nurses.
• To explore the relationship between these characteristics and their roles.
• To identify factors influencing the practice nurse role.

Main Methods:

• A national postal survey of 284 practice nurses was conducted.
• The study employed a sequential mixed-methods design.
• Descriptive statistics and factor analysis were used for data analysis.

Main Results:

• Most practice nurses were female (99%), Registered Nurses (86%), and worked part-time.
• A significant positive correlation was found between perceived appropriate tasks and undertaken tasks (R² = 0.8996).
• Barriers to role expansion included legal, funding, space, and general practitioner attitudes.

Conclusions:

• Australian practice nurses possess valuable skills that are not fully utilized for chronic disease care.
• Overcoming funding, regulatory, and interprofessional barriers is crucial for role expansion.
• Expanding the practice nurse role can support specialist management of chronic conditions.