Changes for Queensland nurse practitioners

A nurse practitioner is a registered nurse educated (usually to Masters Degree level) to function autonomously and collaboratively in an advanced and extended clinical role. The nurse practitioner role includes assessment and management of clients using nursing knowledge and skill and may include:

• conducting advanced health assessments and examinations
• requesting diagnostic investigations
• interpreting results of investigations and examinations and assessments
• admitting and discharging patients
• direct referral of patients to other health care professionals.

There are currently 84 nurse practitioners in Queensland.

Why is there a need for the amendments?

Nurse practitioners are often the first point of contact for patients with work-related injuries who present at primary health care facilities and emergency departments for initial diagnosis and treatment. Nurse practitioners are able to provide appropriate health care for certain non-complex, work-related injuries.

Previously patients with these injuries often needed to be referred to a medical officer solely to obtain a workers' compensation medical certificate.

What do the amendments do?

The amendments attempt to address this by enabling nurse practitioners to issue a workers' compensation certificate for minor injuries at a patient's initial attendance. 'Minor injury' is defined as an injury of a person that does not require the hospitalisation of the person as an in-patient to properly treat the injury.

The aim of the amendments is to reduce the demands on the health workforce and improve health service delivery by using medical resources more efficiently, particularly in rural and remote areas.

This means workers who suffer minor injuries will soon be able to provide insurers with workers' compensation certificates issued by nurse practitioners to support claims.

Where to from here?

Nurse practitioners must act in accordance with the Nurse practitioner workers' compensation certificate protocol which is currently being agreed upon by both Q-COMP and Queensland Health.

We're currently designing the Nurse practitioner workers' compensation certificate which will be available for nurse practitioners to use in early 2010.  We'll also provide information and training for nurse practitioners who will be working in the scheme.

You will be advised when both the protocol and the certificate will be available on our website.

The information in this article is a general guide only and is not a full explanation of the law. The information in this article should not be relied on in place of legal advice and Q-COMP cannot take responsibility for any reliance upon the information in this article. When making decisions affecting legal rights, readers should obtain their own independent legal advice.