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.

The two-year part-time Masters degree is aimed at local nurses with at least three years of experience work, to give them the skills to work independently. Once qualified, nurse practitioners will be able to make advanced diagnosis, prescribe pharmacological and nonpharmacological interventions, order tests, conduct examinations, administer treatments and refer patients within their scope of practice. Professor Dunn told 6minutes the program will complement government recruitment programs into rural areas and engage the territory's high indigenous population to better look after its own health. There are now 13 Australian universities offering Masters degrees leading to nurse practitioner authorisation