1. Nurse Practitioner & Organisational Insights: The beginnings of one nurse practitioner candidate….. Liz Stevenson HARP CDM Renal Care Coordinator / Renal Nurse Practitioner Candidate Elizabeth Morley Nurse Practitioner Project Officer This is our journey………. Palliative Care Nurse Practitioner Collaborative Forum Thursday July 30 th 2009

2. mmmmm a Nurse Practitioner Why????

3. VNPP – phase 3 funding round 4.3 Funds to develop a nurse practitioner (NP) model in renal care: It was identified as an opportunity

4. And l am; A Registered Nurse; I am a specialist in my area of practice; I work in an advanced clinical role; & work autonomously and collaboratively?

5. mmmmm a Nurse Practitioner Why not???? It looks exciting but a little overwhelming

6. so

7. I could continue to practise and become a graceful old chook

8. or

9. Hatch out and pursue the NP journey

10. I was tapped on the shoulder and suggested I submit an expression of interest. At the time this was the process at Bendigo Health to develop nurse practitioner roles as per the 2006 Nurse Practitioner Service Plan. And the journey began…

11. Study! A gain said the family… Convinced family to support me. Financial – initially overwhelming; recommended to seek scholarships * Scholarships have made a significant difference; without l don’t think l would have continued.

12. Enrolled into study Presently a distant educational student at La Trobe University doing Masters of Nursing - Nurse Practitioner’s course. Lovin’ it!

13. And what caused stress along the way... Initially I thought $ was going to be the biggest stress – WRONG! The time required for the studies, and role conflict

14. I feel plucked from all directions…

15. BUT

16. The journey is unique and needs to be respected

17. So what are the ingredients for a positive journey? The Candidate: Study support – need a study buddy Established mentors in your field NBV support – Michelle Thomas amazingly supportive Organisational support – formally and informally, It is there, but recommend variances to contract with employee commitment post endorsement.

18. So what are the ingredients for a positive journey? The Project Officer: In this order…. 1.Service redesign with a rock solid business case to support a NP model of care 2.Development of a model 3.Preparation of the workforce / organization 4.Allocated EFT factoring in leave 5.An allocated budget incorporating all aspects of the service 6.A position description, letter of commitment etc 7.Advertising the position and subsequently appointing a NPs/NPCs And for a sustainable model, the service needs more than one (1) individual NP/NPC providing the service

19. And more ingredients for a positive journey? The candidate and project officer: Loddon Mallee Nurse Practitioner Special Interest: It has been instrumental in maintaining the vision of the Nurse Practitioner Journey for all participating candidates The renal nurse practitioner collaborative Excellent support from Katy Fielding (Nurse Policy Branch), Michelle Thomas (Nurse’s Board Victoria), Gerry Lee (Co-ordinator NP Master’s Program, La Trobe University), and the Project Officer’s management team at Bendigo Health – Fiona and Jenni Supporting each other, being the same height and having the same wicked sense of humour!

20. So the NP journey continues but now I feel like a new chick again

21. Recommend others to break out - do it - come on the NP journey

22. Acknowledge – from planning to practise forum 21 st May 2008 Michelle Thomas – Nurse Policy Officer at NBV

23. Reference Points www.nbv.org.au Guidelines: Scope of Nursing & Midwifery practice http://www.nbv.org.au/media/43986/guidelines%20for%20scop e%20of%20practice.pdf ANMC National Competency Standards for NPs http://www.nbv.org.au/media/51813/anmc%20national%20com petancy%20standards%20np.pdf Courses leading to endorsement as a Nurse Practitioner http://www.nbv.org.au/media/43419/accredited%20courses%20 div%201%20nurse%20practitioner.pdf