Nurse Practitioner
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Nurse Practitioners (NPs): working with you for good health
What is an NP?
An NP or Nurse Practitioner is a legal title for a nurse who has completed advanced education and training in a specific area. NPs have met Nursing Council of New Zealand requirements to assess, diagnose and manage health conditions.
NPs practise both independently and with other health professionals to promote health, prevent disease and to manage people’s health needs. NPs work in a range of settings including clinics, hospitals and community agencies.
NPs exist in over 40 countries, including Australia, Ireland, England, the USA and Canada. Since the role was introduced in NZ in 2001, increasing numbers of NPs have started working across a range of specialties.
What can an NP do for me?
NPs provide a wide range of patient assessment and treatments including diagnoses, ordering, conducting and interpreting medical tests and therapies to help manage your health needs.
NPs are available for consultation at DHBs and medical centres across New Zealand and some can prescribe medicines within their specific area of practice.
NPs have the flexibility of practice to work across a large range of settings and have already shown to be particularly effective in mental health, chronic health, care of the elderly, iwi health, and youth health.
Nurse Practitioner - a healthy future DVD (Click on the link to view)
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NP Innovations This publication (pdf, 1.2Mb) reports on 13 Nurse Practitioner (NP) Innovations projects that began in July 2008. The projects took place in a variety of health settings up and down the country, involved DHBs, PHOs and NGOs, and spanned primary and secondary healthcare. |
The Ministry of Health has published Nurse Practitioners: A Healthy Future for New Zealand to celebrate New Zealand's first 50 nurse practitioners, with photographs and personal stories about what it means to be an NP. This publication can be downloaded from the Ministry's website.
I believe strongly that advanced nursing roles in a range of settings will provide earlier access, thus addressing issues of inequity and inequality. We are challenged here with potentially avoidable hospital admissions. We really need to keep people out of hospital through earlier detection of problems and ongoing quality management. I think advanced nursing has a huge role to play.
- Rose Lightfoot, CEO, Te Tai Tokerau, Northland
My assessment looks at the whole picture of where people are with their health, their social issues and their mental health. I look at what’s going on in their families and households that is affecting people’s ability to start looking after their own health.- Diane Williams, NP Turanganui PHO, Gisborne |
Diane Williams, NP Primary Health Care, Gisborne |
