Primary care nurses from throughout north Queensland have been given an understanding of Northern Queensland Primary Health Network (NQPHN) at a conference in Cairns.
More than 200 nurses attended the Australian Primary Health Care Nurses Association (APNA) in Cairns on Monday and Tuesday this week. NQPHN persuaded the peak professional body for nurses to bring the event to the tropics for the first time outside of a major city.
NQPHN Chief Executive Officer Robyn Whyte, Executive Director Health System Integration and Innovation Karin Barron, Primary Care Workforce Development Manager Carley Radel and Senior Primary Care Engagement Officer Gilyan Thorn formed a NQPHN panel to make a presentation to nurses.
Ms Whyte took primary care nurses through the function and process of the PHN and how the NQPHN are supporting primary care nurses with educational and training opportunities close to home, the re-establishment of Primary Care Nurses Professional Networks and where there are opportunities for primary care nurses to influence NQPHN commissioning and service design through the newly established NQPHN Primary Care and Commissioning and Design Panels. Expressions of interest for the panels are due out soon.
NQPHN worked with the APNA organising the conference at the Cairns Convention Centre. Health Workforce Queensland helped to arrange travel and accommodation for nurses travelling to the conference outside of Cairns.
More than 200 nurses from as far south as the Isaac region, north to the Torres Strait and west to Croydon and Kowanyama, attended the event to learn the latest clinical guidance, gain new knowledge to grow the scope of their practices, and discover new ways to provide better patient care.
Ms Whyte said it was critical that nurses in regional and remote areas were given access to the same information, advice, and knowledge as those who worked in metropolitan areas.
There were a host of sessions, covering topics such as cardiovascular disease prevention, pneumococcal vaccination in older adults, legal issues in primary healthcare nursing, career pathways, the future of aged care nursing, chronic disease management, Indigenous health updates, diabetes management, palliative care, and treatment of wounds.
APNA President Karen Booth said the aim of the conference was for nurses to connect with their colleagues from various primary healthcare settings, engage with brands that could help them care for patients, and meet experts providing advice.
She said it was “a wonderful way for nurses from general practice, aged care, community health, schools, and a myriad of other care settings to get together, share experiences, and stay up to date with current best practice in a clinical setting”.
