Media Statement - 17th November 2008
Applications for the 2009 Nurse Practitioner Scholarships are now open. The scholarships will provide up to $15,000 a year for two years to nurses to upgrade their skills to become nurse practitioners.
Nurse practitioners have responsibility for complex decisions about patient care, and work in a diverse range of areas, including emergency departments, community health centres, mental health services and paediatrics.
The Royal College of Nursing Australia has been working with my department to make these scholarships available as quickly as possible.
On 28 October, I announced that the Rudd Government would invest $2.1 million as part of its strategy to build the Nurse Practitioner workforce. Up to 20 full-time equivalent scholarships will be available.
The scholarships will have a particular emphasis on increasing the availability of nurse practitioners in rural and remote settings and in areas of need such as aged care, mental health, women’s and men’s health, and drug and alcohol health care.
By increasing the capacity of the nurse practitioner workforce we will increase the benefits that this group of health professionals can bring to the community, and the access of families to the health care they need.
Scholarship applications, and details about other Government schemes, are available from the college’s web site at http://www.rcna.org.au/site/scholarships.php. Further information for nurses is also available on 1300 733 314.