Implementation of the nurse practitioner role within a Victorian healthcare network : an organisational perspective

<b>Objective</b><br />This paper presents a discussion of the development of a framework to implement and sustain the nurse practitioner (NP) role within one health service designed to strengthen the capacity of the health system and which could be readily transferable to other health services.<br /><b>Setting</b><br />Eastern Health (EH) is a multi‑campus tertiary health care organisation servicing a population of approximately 800,000 people in the east and outer eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Australia. EH is committed to advancing the nursing profession and exploring innovative, research based models of practice that are responsive to the needs of the community it serves.<br /><b>Primary argument</b><br />The Framework documents the processes of providing a new career pathway for advanced practice nurses that incorporates education and training, and utilises current evidenced‑based practice guidelines to define and promote the scope of practice.<br /><b>Conclusion</b><br />Strong organisational support to facilitate interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary learning opportunities assists integration of the NP role into the healthcare team. Role clarity will assist interprofessional teams to understand and value the role NPs provide.<br />