NP workforce must grow

A nurse practitioner (NP) is an experienced registered nurse (RN) who has completed an additional master’s degree and been endorsed as an NP by the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA).

The NP workforce plan recognises that NPs “have the skill, knowledge, expertise and legal authority to provide preventative care, and diagnose and treat people of all ages with acute and chronic health conditions.”

In releasing the plan in May, Assistant Federal Minister for Health and Aged Care, Ged Kearney, said NPs have existed for more than 20 years but the workforce remains small.

In 2021, Only 1549 NPs were working across Australia, while another 650 had completed their masters-level training but were still working as RNs, Ms Kearney said.

About 30 per cent of employed NPs work in regional, rural and remote areas.

“The NP workforce needs to grow, to help address inequities in access and outcomes so all Australians can get the care they need when they need it,” she added.

To be eligible for admission to an NP study program, an RN must have:

• current general registration as an RN with the NMBA

• a minimum two years’ full-time equivalent (FTE) as an RN in a specified clinical field and two years’ FTE of current advanced nursing practice in the same clinical field

• a postgraduate qualification at Australian Qualifications Framework Level 8 in a clinical field. n