First ever post!

Welcome to the first Belinda’s Blog where I will try to keep you, our members, up to date with the goings on of APNA in terms of lobbying, services for members and other news.

In the last fortnight Anne Matyear and I have attended a couple of key meetings that you should know about. The first was the National Primary Health Care Partnerships meeting (www.nphcp.com.au) in Canberra, where we worked on a joint position statement on primary health care. 19 different allied health, nursing and medical groups are part of this group and we looked at the importance of multidisciplinary care, the need for a region specific network governed by all relevant health professionals (nurses can be full members and on the Board) and access for all to quality primary health care. The final document will be released publicly once all the relevant boards have signed off on them.

Our second meeting, also in Canberra, was with Dr Ruth Kearon, Ministerial Advisor to Minister Roxon. We resumed discussions about a building the capacity of the practice nursing profession through a structured career path, professional development program, and more research into the role. We also raised the need for training for the 4yr Health Check.

I am currently the APNA rep on an Allied Health Professionals Australia project reference and steering group looking at education and resources for practice nurses and GPs on allied health and for allied health on general practice. We had a meeting this week and it is fantastic to see practice nurses roles as care coordinators articulated so clearly by the allied health present!

Instead of enjoying the Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival, we are enjoying (?) a discussion paper season with the National Preventative Healthcare Taskforce releasing their discussion paper for comment and the National Primary Health Care Expert Reference Group releasing theirs in early November. Both of these have the potential to a huge impact on your role and we need to make sure we inform their decision processes. It really is potentially a once in a generation chance to change the way we provide primary care nursing services in Australia. Go to http://www.health.gov.au/internet/ministers/publishing.nsf/Content/mr-yr08-nr-nr133.htm to read the Discussion Paper out now and keep your eyes out for the upcoming one.

Last Tuesday I presented on APNA at a PN Orientation day at the Peninsula GP Network and it is always inspiring to meet nurses at the beginning of their journey in practice nursing and be able to give them some tips that other practice nurses have passed on to me.

I was very excited to receive an email this week from Samantha Moses, the first ever APNA President and founder (along with a small group of other nurses including our previous President Lynne Walker). We had lost contact and I had to track her down through the internet. We have invited her to speak at our inaugural conference next April alongside the other APNA Presidents, past and current, on practice nursing and APNA during their tenure. It is a real buzz for her to see how far APNA has come.