3.3 General practice in Australia
The way in which an individual practice utilises nursing
services is unique and depends on a variety of factors, some of
which include:
• size of the practice (large medical centre versus smaller
practice)
• patient demographics (older patients versus younger patient
base, rates of chronic diseases, etc)
• GP preferences and specialty areas
• physical layout of the practice (room for a treatment room
versus small consult room only)
• experience and special qualifications of the nurse (eg,
nurse with a postgraduate certificate child and family
health or midwifery).
Nurses working in general practice may take on one or more of the following roles:3
Roles of nurses in general practice
• providing clinical nursing services in the general practice
context through:
— triage
— assessment (including health assessments of people
over 75 years)
— therapeutic care and treatment
— wound care
— diagnostic services
— clinical data management.
• coordinating patient services through:
— networking with allied services
— integrating service delivery
— sustaining continuity of care
— planning and management of care (working with GPs in
care planning activities)
— providing information and feedback between the
services, patients and GP’s
— patient advocacy.
• managing the clinical environment by assisting general
practice to meet relevant standards and legislative
requirements in:
— infection control and sterilisation
— cold chain monitoring
— records management
— occupational health and safety
— accreditation processes
— maintenance of medical supplies.
• promoting patient carer and community well being through:
— health information
— education
— specific programs
— community development
— self care.
• sustaining general practice by contributing to better management of human and material resources through:
— optimising the use of professional resources
— building the practice base
— building practice capacity to adapt to change
— maximising financial efficiency.
• improving health outcomes by contributing to and enhancing the management and prevention of ill
health through:
— health screening
— immunisation
— register and recalls
— patient education
— outreach services
— systems management
— acute and chronic disease management.
Further information regarding the way in which nurses can
be utilised in general practice can also be found in the ‘For
the Employer’ section (2.4) of this resource, and in Nursing in
General Practice — a guide for the general practice team, a
resource produced by the Royal College of Nursing, Australia
(RCNA) in January 2006, with assistance of the Department of
Health and Ageing (http://www.rcna.org.au/pages/nsggp.php)
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