Nurse Practitioners

Abstract

Nurse practitioners are increasingly being identified as legitimate providers of health services throughout the world. The emergence of the role of 'nurse practitioners' has tended to occur where a clear need arises. The term 'nurse practitioner' remains controversial. For example, a Canadian discussion paper on nurse practitioners shows that the issue of definition has provoked comments that are remarkably similar to the noted in Australia. Ford and Silver in Colorado advanced the nurse practitioner movement in the United States with the inception of the 'Colorado Paediatric Nurse Practitioner and Associate Program' in 1965. The report concluded that with the increasing emphasis on primary health care, nurses can make a significant contribution. The Nurse Practitioner Project conducted in New South Wales epitomised the tensions that exist between the ideal of 'collaboration' in the provision of health services and the rather sordid reality of 'competition' from the commencement of Stage 1 in 1990.