Korero Hauora Health Talk - Taranaki District Health Board

Nurse Practitioner - Heart Failure Also MentorsEmerging Senior Nurses in this Area of NursingPracticeBy Brigitte Lindsay, Nurse Practitioner-Heart FailureThe Nurse Practitioner Heart Failure Clinic Pilot commenced following the successof the Heart Failure Clinic which had been run in Hawera the previous three years.The goal was to improve the care of patients with cardiac failure both in primary andsecondary care; this followed a successful Heart Failure clinic running in Hawera forseveral years. In 2008, after a positive evaluation of the New Plymouth clinic, theposition was made permanent (0.6FTE) and has been continued successfully.My position has proven to be valuable in contributing to help cardiac patients,reduce cardiology wait times to a more manageable level, and in the interactionwith primary care. All patients admitted with heart failure to hospital should beconsidered for referral to the service. Referrals are also accepted from primary careand Outpatient Department (OPD) clinics.A later pilot to extend my role to work in general cardiology at SouthCare GeneralPractitioners (GP) Practice, Hawera, also showed improved outcomes for patients andin January 2011, I became employed there permanently one day a week. This modelhelps further integration of primary/secondary interface and provides a specialistcardiology service to patients in primary care whose most pressing concern is cardiacin nature. Patients who have been discharged after admission with a cardiac diagnosiscan be followed up by myself at the GP practice for review, the patient may notnecessarily need to see the GP. Health professionals including doctors and nurses, orpatients themselves can refer to my service, even if patients have not been admittedto hospital.In my role as Nurse Practitioner, I not only care for patients at an advanced levelbut I assume leadership and mentoring roles including being available to provideadvice, training, examining for the University of Auckland in the Cardiac VIVA clinicalexamination for the post graduate Specialty Practice Cardiology paper, all of whichcontribute to the workforce development and the development of cardiology servicesas a whole.2011 Korero Hauora - Health Talk27