The growth of nurse practitioners in Australia has been patchy and largely driven by individuals instead of legislative reform.

Dr Clare Harvey from the school of nursing and midwifery at Flinders University is midway through a five-year longitudinal study on the impact of NPs on the health system. She says they have spearheaded growth. "There is a lot of good work happening within individual pockets of professionals working together but it's not necessarily supported by the legislation or the financial arrangements," she tells NR. "There are pockets of organisations that are flying with nurse practitioners and others that really do not understand how the role can be implemented. There is still a degree of fear around...