First paediatric nurse practitioner

The registration of the first paediatric nurse practitioner in the Emergency Department of The Children's Hospital at Westmead heralds a new era in the treatment of emergency patients which will have a positive effect on patients and their families.

The nurse practitioner plays a significant hands on role in the Emergency Department. Working in tandem with our doctors, the nurse practitioner provides advanced nursing care that previously was associated only with doctors. This will have a direct and positive effect on patient care and will help to reduce waiting times for some of our patients.

Helen Gosby is the first paediatric nurse practitioner in NSW. Other nurse practitioners are employed in rural areas caring for patients of all ages. Her appointment is the result of 5,000 hours spent in a senior nursing role, an oral exam and the provision of written evidence supporting her practice to the Nurses Registration Board of NSW.

The paediatric nurse practitioner's role is significant in the emergency environment because:

• the nurse practitioner can provide rapid assessment and treatment to some emergency patients, obviating their need to wait in the queue to see a doctor;
• the nurse practitioner is an emergency nurse expert who can spend time with children and their parents providing explanations about treatments in the emergency department;
• the emergency nurse practitioner's skills include assessing and treating children with minor injuries, and some common childhood illnesses.

"This role is a new one for clinical nurses in NSW. It involves a more autonomous level of nursing practice that enables me the practitioner to expedite treatment for minor illnesses and injuries. It also provides an opportunity for nurses to have an enhanced clinical career progression in paediatric nursing, hopefully retaining nurses with expert paediatric clinical skills," Helen said.

"The nurse practitioner role in the Emergency Department is an exciting development of paediatric nursing practice in NSW. The role will add significant value to the experiences of patients and their families who use the services of The Children's Hospital at Westmead." said Jenni Jarvis, Director of Clinical Services, Nursing.

For further information, please contact:

Gilly Paxton
Public Relations
The Children's Hospital at Westmead
(02) 9845 3568