I am a rural and remote Nurse Practitioner (NP). I work in an isolated little corner of Victoria, in the most dynamic and innovative health service I have ever been involved with. Part of that innovation is the NP role. As a member of a team, whose ultimate aim is effective, holistic care for our community, my role is varied and diverse. From writing gym programs, through case management, district nursing, practice nursing, the provision of health programs and education, and accident and emergency, I have the ability to provide responsive and effective care. The Walwa Bush Nursing Centre, by the nature of it's operations, enables this varied and effective input, and all of our nurses are equally involved in providing this care.

The NP role, and the ability to prescribe drugs, order tests and x-rays and refer to specialists, further expands my role and gives me the ability to see patient care through from beginning to end.

As an example, an elderly patient may present to our emergency department following a fall, sustaining a laceration. I am able to use local anaesthetic to suture the wound, then prescribe analgesia, or an antibiotic if necessary. I am able to directly refer them to the district nursing service (most likely to be me) for daily dressings, then follow up with a referral to our strength training program aimed at improving core strength as a falls prevention measure (also run by me)! This gives me a fantastic ability to be really holistic in the care I provide as well as developing a valuable therapeutic relationship with the patient. The ability to prescribe drugs and order tests also enables me to be very opportunistic. There are so often patients that present once, but are unlikely to come back for an appointment with the GP. Being able to provide care for them, including any necessary medication can have a big impact on their health.

The NP is an important member of our health team. I currently work collaboratively with our GP and we consult on a number of cases. Importantly, my ability to lighten the after hours/on-call work load of the local GP's has the capacity to help us attract GP's into the future. However, in the absence of a doctor, my role is also able to ensure that my community can continue to have access to health care.