Abstract
AimThe purpose of this work was to examine the roles of Registered Nurses (RNs) in primary care (PC) and public health (PH) collaboration. Additionally, we aimed to explore whether the current scope of practice for RNs is adequate to support their roles in PC/PH collaboration.DesignA scoping review of current literature relating to the RN’s role in PC/PH collaboration was conducted using the PRISMA 2009 checklist.MethodsThe review used key terms: primary care, public health, collaboration, nursing and nurse role across six electronic databases; 23 articles that were included in the final review were published over a 7‐year span.ResultsFour key RN roles relating to PC/PH collaboration were identified: relationship builder, outreach professional, programme facilitator and care coordinator. RNs supported transitions in chronic disease, communicable disease care and maternity care at various healthcare system levels including systemic, organizational, intrapersonal and interpersonal levels.
Highlights
Education institutions need to ensure registered nurses (RN) students are exposed to outreach experiences, and have practice working in the primary care (PC) system, as well inter-organizational collaborative skills
This study focuses on the registered nurse (RN); the term nurse will be used synonymously with RN
In Allard, Frego, Katz, & Halas, (2010), only 61% of PC nurses felt that they were working to full scope of practice, and some nurses were unclear about which of their activities fell within the regulated scope such as Pap testing and anticoagulation monitoring
Summary
Based on their ability to work in a variety of roles and settings to promote collaboration between PC and PH, nurses could be more optimally utilized to support health care system change. At the individual patient level, collaboration between PC/PH systems increases accessibility to health promotion and injury prevention programs (Valaitis et al, 2013), maternal/child health programs and communicable disease care (Institute of Medicine, 2012; Price et al, 2014) especially by vulnerable populations Transition coordinator role (experienced nurse role) PHN work in PH, Liaison roles to PC seen for guideline translation
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