Revista de Prácticas Avanzadas en Enfermería

Nurse Practitioners: An Opportunity to Recreate the Art of Nursing

Abstract

Anne Crawford

The Australian Public Healthcare system today is
complex and fragmented. It is a three-tiered system
comprising primary, secondary and tertiary care. The typical
hospital structure is a complex web of clinical streams,
supported by Allied Health and other administrative
functions. The system has created clinical silos without
considering how they work together to look after the patient
holistically. There is a separation within the system of
people with a disability, chronic or complex illness, aged
care and social welfare. Healthcare nursing is both and art
and a science however, the time pressures on nurses have
largely reduced their roles to being task driven. They may
be mindful that health affects all members of families, that
health and illness are family events and that the process and
outcome of healthcare is influenced by family support but,
they do not have the capacity within their roles to practice
this art of nursing.