Nurse practitioner work patterns: a cross-sectional study

Aim

The aim was to determine how nurse practitioner (NP) roles are translated into clinical practice across Victoria, Australia. This paper reports details about NP work patterns and scopes of practice across multiple clinical settings and geographic locations.

Design

A quantitative survey design was used. A data abstraction tool, based on previous work, was adapted for this study.

Methods

All NPs in one state of Australia were eligible to participate in the study and invited to complete an online survey about their NP practice. A previously developed data collection tool, capturing practice patterns of NPs, was adapted for online use in REDCAP. The data were exported, and descriptive statistics were analysed using SPSS.

Results

Participants were mostly female, with males accounting for 25%. Findings indicate several NPs working in outpatient settings, community settings and forensic care. Patterns of practice—prescribing and ordering diagnostics—are associated with clinical context and model of care of the NP work.