Nursing in General Practice

General practice nurses are central to delivering holistic, patient-centred care in all life stages across metro and regional settings. Guided by the Quintuple Aim, nurses support improved health outcomes, patient experience, cost-efficiency, workforce well-being, and equity.

As key members of multidisciplinary teams, they promote continuity of care and build trusted relationships with patients and families. The nurse’s role can include health promotion, disease prevention, palliative care, advocacy, research, policy planning and development, education and a range of other clinical tasks.

In Western Australia, general practice nurses are key enablers to improving health outcomes. Their clinical expertise is strengthened by data driven approaches that support evidenced-based provision of care, continuous quality improvement and informed decision-making.

Practice nurses contribute to developing quality and safety systems embedded within accreditation activities. Through ongoing professional development and collaboration, general practice nurses help shape responsive, measurable care that meets the evolving health needs of their communities.

• Employing a Nurse in General Practice (fact sheet)
• MBS Items Practice Nurse fact sheet (fact sheet)

Practice nurse specific education is available from many sources including:

• External education providers – Practice Assist
• Upcoming workshops and webinars – Practice Assist
• Education – Australian Primary Health Care Nurses Association (APNA)
• All courses – The Benchmarque Group
• Understanding Vaccines and the National Immunisation Program – SA Health
• Home – Practice Nurse Central
• Home – Australian College of Nursing (ACN)
• Nurse Education – Sexual Health Quarters
• Training education and resources – Silverchain
• Community and primary health – Australian College of Nursing
• Online Learning Modules – WA Primary Health Alliance

A Nurse Practitioner (NP) is a Registered Nurse with the experience, expertise and authority to diagnose and treat people of all ages with a variety of acute or chronic health conditions. NPs have completed additional university study at Master’s degree level and are the most senior and independent clinical nurses in our health care system.

The title “Nurse Practitioner” can only be used by a person who has been endorsed by the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia.
National standards for practice ensure that Nurse Practitioners are capable of providing high quality, patient centred care. They are also capable in clinical research, education and leadership as applied to clinical care and health service development.

• What is a nurse practitioner? – Australian College of Nurse Practitioners (ACNP)
• Become a nurse practitioner – WA Health
• Home page – Australian College of National Practitioners (ACNP)

Advance Care Planning (ACP) Tool Kit – Practice Assist

• The role of general practice in the provision of healthcare to children and young adults – Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP)
• Mandatory reporting of child sexual abuse in WA – Western Australian Government
• Resources for health professionals – Perth Children’s Hospital (PCH)
• Guidelines Archive (PMH ED Guidelines) – Kids Health WA
• For health professionals – Child and Adolescent Health Service (CAHS)
• Maternal health – World Health Organisation (WHO)
• During pregnancy – Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP)
• Child and Maternal Health – National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO)

• Clinician Assist WA » Login

• Continence Aids Payment Scheme (CAPS) – Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing
• Continence Management & Advice Service (CMAS) – Silverchain

• Ear health and hearing – Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing
• Ear and hearing health for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people – Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing

• ASCIA Guidelines Acute management of anaphylaxis – Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy (ASCIA)
• ACS Guideline 2025 – National Heart Foundation of Australia & Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand
• Mental Health Emergency Response Line – East Metropolitan Health Service

• Home page – BloodSafe eLearning Australia
• IV Iron Tools – BloodSafe eLearning Australia
• Cosmetic surgery hub – Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA)
• Administration of vaccines: Recommended injection sites -Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing
• Allergen Immunotherapy – Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy (ASCIA)

• Prescription medicines – Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA)
• Prescriber bag supplies – Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS)
• Criterion GP5.3 – Doctor’s bag – Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP)
• Electronic prescriptions – Australian Digital Health Agency (ADHA)
• Medication-Management-Reviews-DMMR-and-RMMR-Fact-Sheet-230224.pdf – Practice Assist
• Registered Nurse Prescribing Accreditation Standards 2025.pdf – Australian Nursing & Midwifery Accreditation Council (ANMAC)

• Palliative Care – WA Primary Health Alliance
• Palliative Care – WA Department of Health
• Home page – Palliative Care WA
• Aboriginal End-of-Life and Palliative Care Framework – WA Department of Health
• Palliative Care Australia – Multilingual resources

• Helpful asthma information and resources in Australia – Asthma Australia
• Asthma action plans – National Asthma Council Australia
• Australia’s Clinical Guidelines for COPD Management:The COPD-X Plan – Lung Foundation Australia
• Spirometry-Handbook-2023-Colour.pdf – National Asthma Council Australia
• Home – Lung Foundation Australia

• Resources – Sexual Health Quarters
• Sexual health resources – Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing
• ASHM resource library – Australasian Society for HIV, Viral Hepatitis and Sexual Health Medicine (ASHM)

• Clinical guidelines – Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP)
• Reproductive and women’s health – Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP)
• Health professionals – Jean Hailes for Women’s Health
• Menopause and perimenopause health assessment services – Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) online
• Intrauterine devices/systems: Resources for general practice – Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP)
• Contraceptive implant information for GPs – Sexual Health Quarters

• Wound management in General Practice settings – HotDoc
• Wound care – Silverchain
• The Wound Care Manual – Silverchain
• Chronic Wound Consumables Scheme – Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing

• Aboriginal health – Practice Assist
• Western Australia – Resources – Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet
• Home – NACCHO
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health resources – Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing
• Health Professional Education Resources – Indigenous Health Services (IHS)
• Resources sheets for workforce – WellMob

• Multicultural resources for health professionals – WA Department of Health
• Multicultural health (interpreter and translated information) – Healthy WA
• Multicultural health services directory – WA Department of Health
• People from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds – Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing

• Resources to help GPs support patients to access the NDIS – Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP)
• Home page – National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS)

• Home page – LGBTIQ+ Health Australia
• Research and resources – Rainbow Health Australia

• Home page – Homeless Healthcare
• Support for older people experiencing homelessness – My Aged Care
• Homelessness services – Western Australian Government

• Digital Health – PracticeAssist
• Home – Australian Digital Health Agency

• Home page – Primary Sense
• Resources and documents – Primary Sense
• WA Primary Health Alliance Portals for General Practice – Practice Assist
• PCRP-manual-for-practice-staff_final.pdf – WA Primary Health Alliance

• Services for health professionals – My Aged Care
• Support at Home program – Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing
• RACGP aged care clinical guide (Silver Book) – Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP)

• MyMedicare & General Practice in Aged Care Incentive – Practice Assist
• Care finders – WA Primary Health Alliance
• New Aged Care Standards – Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing
• General Practice in Aged Care Incentive – Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing
• GPACI-QI-Toolkit-Feb-2025.pdf – National MyMedicare PHN Implementations Program
• Welcome to My Aged Care information and services – My Aged Care
• Medicare Benefits Schedule Note AN.0.40 – Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS)

• Home – National Cancer Screening Register
• Clinical Software Integration – National Cancer Screening Register
• BreastScreen Australia Program – Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing
• National Bowel Cancer Screening Program – Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing
• National Cervical Screening Program – Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing
• National Lung Cancer Screening Program – Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing

• Care plans – Health professionals – Services Australia
• Fact sheets: Upcoming changes to the MBS Chronic Disease Management Framework – MBS Online
• SNAP Guidelines: Physical-activity-and-nutrition-counselling.pdf.aspx – Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP)
• Home – SHAPE (weight management) – WA Primary Health Alliance
• Heart Foundation clinical resources for health professionals – Heart Foundation
• Time to book a Heart Health Check? – Heart Foundation
• Home page – Diabetes WA
• Support for people living with diabetes – Diabetes Australia
• Asthma, COPD, Respiratory Health – Respiratory Care WA
• Health Professionals – Kidney Health Australia
• Dementia information for nurses and their patients – Dementia Australia
• Cancer information and support – Cancer Council
• Chronic Disease Management in General Practice – WA Primary Health Alliance

• Immunisation – PracticeAssist
• Australian Immunisation Register – Services Australia
• Immunisation Learning Courses – SA health
• The Australian Immunisation Handbook – Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing
• PneumoSmart Vaccination Tool – Immunisation Coalition
• For health professionals – National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance (NCIRS)
• Home – Sharing Knowledge About Immunisation (SKAI)
• Immunisation – North Metropolitan Health Service
• Our Regions – WA Country Health Service

• Mental Health Support for Remote Health Professionals – CRANAplus
• TEN – The Essential Network for Health Professionals – Black Dog Institute
• Home – Hand-n-Hand Peer Support
• Crisis support and suicide prevention (13 11 14 ) – Lifeline Australia
• Urgent help – Beyond Blue
• Five tips for staff wellbeing in nursing – Australian College of Nursing (ACN)

• Infection prevention and control guidelines – Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP)
• Infection prevention and control – Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care

• Lifecycle-chart.pdf.aspx – Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP)
• Motivational interviewing techniques: Facilitating behaviour change in the general practice setting – Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP)
• Home page – Better Health Company

• Accreditation for general practice – Practice Assist
• Standards for general practices (5th edition) – Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP)
• Infection prevention and control guidelines – Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP)
• Standards for point-of-care testing – Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP)
• Accreditation for nurses in general practice (Video 47.37 mins) – WA Primary Health Alliance

• Introduction – Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP)
• Emergency Response Planning Tool – Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP)
• General Practice Emergency Response Team project – WA Primary Health Alliance
• Building Capacity in Disaster Preparedness and Response for General Practice – WA Primary Health Alliance (e-Learning)

• MyMedicare – Practice Assist
• Medicare Benefits Schedule – Practice Assist
• Business Management – Practice Assist
• MBS Online – MBS Online
• Payments and claims for your patients – Health professionals – Services Australia

• Business Management – Practice Assist
• RACGP Standards and Other Resources – Practice Assist
• Workforce Incentive Program – Practice Assist
• POPGUNS Triage Process – Practice Assist
• Manage the PIP and WIP Practice Stream online

• Provider Digital Access (PRODA) – Services Australia
• Health Professional Online Services (HPOS) – Services Australia

• Quality Improvement (QI) Tool Kit – PracticeAssist
• Criterion QI1.1 – Quality improvement activities – Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP)
• Part 1: The Quintuple Aim of healthcare | Insights into the RACGP Standards 6th edition – AGPAL – General Practice Accreditation
• Quality improvement series – WA Primary Health Alliance

• Home page – WA Primary Health Alliance
• WAPHA webinars – WA Primary Health Alliance
• Primary Health Networks – Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing

• Alcohol and other drugs – WA Primary Health Alliance
• Alcohol and Other Drug Withdrawal Management Policy – WA Department of Health
• Whole of practice resources – Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP)

• Mental health care in general practice – Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP)
• Medicare Mental Health – WA Primary Health Alliance
• Free, digital psychological care with MindSpot – MindSpot
• Mental Health Emergency Response Line – East Metropolitan Health Service
• TEN – The Essential Network for Health Professionals – Black Dog Institute | Better Mental Health