ARNM: promoting nursing in general practice

Abstract

[Extract] Nurses and midwives have been quietly working away in rural general practice for some time now, but the role they play remains largely misunderstood and as a consequence under valued. There is still a perception among the general community and within the wider nursing community that practice nurses act as doctor's handmaidens. However, this is far from the truth according to the nurses and midwives who work in practice environments. They would argue that practice nurses have a high degree of autonomy, which must be supported by expert knowledge and broad based clinical skills