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Transforming Healthcare: The Australian Nurse Practitioner Role

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Nurse Practitioners and Nurse Anesthetists: The Evolution of the Global Roles

Part of the book series: Advanced Practice in Nursing ((APN))

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Abstract

Nursing leaders began developing the Australian Nurse Practitioner (NP) role in the early 1990s, with the first two NPs authorized to practice in New South Wales in 2000. In 2023, there are approximately 2600 NPs practicing across all eight Australian states and territories. They work across a wide variety of specialty areas and contexts of practice, ranging from tertiary hospitals in major metropolitan centers to primary healthcare clinics in isolated and remote areas of Australia. The role was legitimized through legislated title protection, and is nationally regulated through standards for practice, safety and quality guidelines, and accreditation standards for education programs. Nurse practitioners are advanced practice nurses who are enabled to practice autonomously. They can independently diagnose and manage health conditions, request and interpret diagnostic imaging and pathology, and prescribe medicines within their individual scopes of practice. Over the past ten years they have focused on the development of novel models of care. They are on a journey toward disruptive and transformational innovation in Australian healthcare.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Charles Darwin University, Casuarina, NT, Australia

    Christopher Helms

  2. Australian College of Nurse Practitioners, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Leanne Boase

  3. LaTrobe University, Bundoora, VIC, Australia

    Leanne Boase

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  1. Christopher Helms
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  2. Leanne Boase
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Correspondence to Leanne Boase .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. DePaul Community Health Center, New Orleans, LA, USA

    Sophia L. Thomas

  2. School of Nurse Anesthesia, Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, TX, USA

    Jackie S. Rowles

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Helms, C., Boase, L. (2023). Transforming Healthcare: The Australian Nurse Practitioner Role. In: Thomas, S.L., Rowles, J.S. (eds) Nurse Practitioners and Nurse Anesthetists: The Evolution of the Global Roles. Advanced Practice in Nursing. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-20762-4_20

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-20762-4_20

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