Page 1866 - Week 06 - Thursday, 9 May 2013
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An area of growing interest amongst nurses and midwives is in the primary care and the primary healthcare setting, in settings such as the nurse-led walk-in centres and general practice, where nurses and midwives play a key role in supporting patients in the optimal management of their health conditions.
Roles of the primary healthcare nurse or midwife include health promotion, illness prevention, midwifery, antenatal and postnatal care, population and public health, education and research. In general practice in particular, the practice nurse role is expanding to assist in reducing GP workloads and increasing collaborative care between GPs and nurses, and enhancing the quality of care delivered.
Like nurses and midwives working in other settings, primary healthcare nurses and midwives have professional, legal and ethical responsibilities which require demonstration of a satisfactory knowledge base, accountability for practice, and functioning in accordance with legislation affecting nursing and health care.
Community nurses offer a wide range of community and at-home support and treatment services to people with chronic conditions or to those discharged from hospital who have continuing support needs. Community nurses provide an extensive range of nursing services to people in their homes, including intravenous antibiotics, wound management and dressings, catheter management, post-chemotherapy monitoring and central line care, and end-of-life care.
Nurse practitioners, a relatively new area of extended nursing practice which is unique in terms of their specific scope of practice, are now recognised as key members of the healthcare team and collaborate with other nurses and healthcare professionals, including GPs, medical and surgical specialists, physiotherapists, dieticians, occupational therapists, social workers, and many others. They work in a variety of locations, both in hospital and in community settings.
Nurse practitioners require many years of experience in a clinical specialty and a masters qualification. In order to practise at this advanced level, nurse practitioners must develop their own set of clinical practice guidelines overseen by a multidisciplinary advisory committee.
The ACT now has 30 nurse practitioners working in both public and private sectors, with a focus on improving access to treatment, providing cost-effective care, targeting at-risk populations like disadvantaged women, and providing mentorship and clinical expertise to other health professionals.
Midwifery is also a primary healthcare discipline founded on a partnership relationship between women and their midwives, and contemporary midwifery practice is based on a well-health model of care. Midwifery practice includes health counselling and education of not only the woman but also the family and the community.
Midwives work in hospital maternity units, delivery suites, birthing centres, community settings and in group practice and team midwifery models. The ACT is
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