Nurse Practitioner in Aged Care
In 2009, during the development of TPG’s five year Strategic Plan, the decision was made to have as one of our primary services the delivery of specialist dementia and palliative care for people who want to remain in their place of residence. Our long term objective was to enable people with complex health issues and other life limiting illnesses to live in their own homes for as long as they chose to do so.
Consideration was given to the model of care require to meet our objective and it was deemed that the most appropriate health professional to oversee the delivery of our chosen model of care was an Aged Care Nurse Practitioner. As a consequence one of our Registered Nurses undertook a Masters degree to qualify as an Aged Care Nurse Practitioner. During her studies she was granted a Scholarship with the WA Dementia Training and Study Centre to further develop her knowledge of dementia and treatment options.
Since being endorsed in July 2011, our NP provides services to one Residential Aged Care Facility (RACF) and will shortly be working in a second RACF. She is also providing consulting services to the Dementia Behaviour Management Advisory Services (DBMAS).
The aims of the NP service are to:
- improve access to treatment for people over 65 in their place of residence and in their community generally
- provide expertise and clinical support for residents with complex care needs, management of chronic diseases and timely interventions to reduce admission to acute care facilities
- develop our Collaborative/Partnership Model to extend our capacity to provide specialist aged care service, as well as, care for people with dementia and life limiting illnesses and their families
- support and mentor RN’s to develop a pathway to gaining NP status.
Nurse Practitioners are trained and certified to practice within their designated state and under clinical practice guidelines. The scope of practice for TPG’s NP in aged care is:
- comprehensive investigation and collation of health history
- advanced, comprehensive and holistic physical assessment
- collaborating with other members of the health care team, the client and their family to prevent hospital admissions and provide continuity of care in the setting of their choice
- monitoring of chronic conditions
- ordering of appropriate diagnostic investigations
- implementation of timely initiation of treatment, according to results of investigations, using medications according to clinical protocols as required
- application of knowledge of evidence based practice to all clinical practices
- provision of direct care as outlined in the ANMC competency standards
- delegation of care to appropriately trained staff
- education and training to staff actively involved in care
- updating clinical protocols at least 5 yearly, or when research is produced that indicates a change in practice
- maintaining appropriate clinical records
A consultation with the NP is also covered by Medicare in much the same way as a regular visit to your doctor.