Pap smears collected by nurse practitioners: a comparison with smears collected by medical practitioners

This paper evaluates the results of a pilot study in which nurse practitioners (NPs) collected Pap smears to screen for cervical cancer in women in Victoria, Australia. A comparison is made between women screened by NPs and women screened by three other types of medical practitioners. Women screened by NPs were more likely to be older, of non-English-speaking background, and to have had fewer smears collected previously. The quality of the smears collected by the NPs and the other medical practitioners did not differ, but a higher proportion of smears collected by the NPs were from women who had undergone a hysterectomy. The abnormality rate was lower in the smears collected by the NPs. This difference was statistically significant, even after the data were age standardized. As a result of this short-term evaluation, it has been concluded that NPs are able to effectively screen a hard-to-reach group of women, collect technically adequate specimens, and arrange for appropriate follow-up care for women with screen-detected abnormalities.