6 Minutes.com.au 6 Feb 2009

With no end in sight to the medical workforce shortage, the Northern Territory has become the latest area to try fill the gap by setting up degree courses for nurse practitioners.The first intake of 14 nurses will take up their places next month at Charles Darwin University (CDU) on a new program developed with Federal Government's indigenous intervention program in mind. The university says it hopes the nurse practitioner degree program will "provide NT with more highly skilled and knowledgeable health care professionals able to provide the complex care required in many remote communities," according to Professor Sandra Dunn, course co-ordinator.