The Role of Nurses in General Practice: An Integrative Review.

Area of Science:

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

Background:

• General Practice Nurses (GPNs) are integral to primary care delivery.
• Existing literature presents varied perspectives on GPN roles, responsibilities, and impact.
• Ambiguity in the GPN role may lead to underutilization of their full potential.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize existing literature on the multifaceted roles of General Practice Nurses (GPNs).
• To identify barriers and facilitators influencing the effective implementation of the GPN role.
• To provide insights for optimizing GPNs' contribution within primary care settings.

Main Methods:

• An integrative literature review was conducted following Whittemore and Knafl's framework.
• A systematic search of CINAHL, Medline, and Google Scholar identified relevant primary research.
• Thematic analysis was employed to analyze data from twelve included papers.

Main Results:

• Four key themes emerged: role characteristics, clinical functions, non-clinical contributions, and barriers/enablers.
• GPNs are crucial for continuity of care and collaboration, acting as liaisons for patients and staff.
• Ambiguity and overlapping responsibilities were identified as factors limiting GPN role utilization, despite a desire for increased focus on health promotion and assessment.

Conclusions:

• The General Practice Nurse role presents a significant opportunity to improve access to primary care.
• Current literature on GPN roles is limited and often contradictory.
• Further research is essential to clarify GPN clinical activities and inform policy for optimal workforce integration and scope of practice.