The Illawarra Shoalhaven Medicare Local (ISML) supports the integration of nurses into the general practice setting by providing assistance with recruitment, orientation and ongoing professional development and networking opportunities. Phone and email support can be provided by the Primary Care Support Team.

Recruiting and retaining a Practice Nurse

• Establishing a Need for a Practice Nurse
• Advertising for a Practice Nurse
• Orientation

Establishing the need for a Practice Nurse

Establish what the needs of your practice are, by discussing as a team how you would like to utilise the services of a nurse.  Clarify individual GP expectation versus practice needs as these can sometimes be very different! 

Example: GP ‘A' might assume the nurse will be available primarily for clinical support (ie vaccinations, wound management, spirometry) while;

GP ‘B' (the principal GP) wishes to employ a nurse to undertake Enhanced Primary Care activities such as Health Assessments and Chronic Disease Management,  leaving very little time allocated to providing clinical support to the practice's GPs.

Make sure all GPs and the Practice Manager have realistic expectations and a clear understanding of the scope of nursing practice.  To assist you in understanding the roles of nurses in general practice, please refer to Nursing in General Practice Recruitment and Orientation Resource, produced by AGPN.

By establishing the roles you wish the nurse to undertake within the practice, you will be able to form a position description, and this will guide you in choosing a nurse.

Advertising for a Practice Nurse

The ISML website now has a Positions Vacant section where you can place an advertisement for a nurse.  Please contact the Primary Care Support Team if you wish to place an ad.

A number of local practices have also successfully advertised in the local Illawarra Mercury Saturday job section.  If you would like to review some previous advertisements please contact our Practice Support Team at 4220 7600 or through email at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Orientation

The  Nursing in General Practice Recruitment and Orientation Resource
Section 3 of this resource provides information for nurses considering working in a general practice, as well as those newly employed in general practice. 

National Competency Standards for Nurses working in General Practice have also been developed and provide a useful framework that reflects nursing practice in the general practice setting. The National Competency Standards for Nurses working in General Practice Document contains helpful resources such as role statements, sample position descriptions and professional development plans.

If you have any questions about Practice Nurse Orientation and Recruitment please contact the Primary Care Support Team on 4220 7600