The role of a nurse

Nurses are healthcare professionals. Nurses work with you, your family and community to:

• help prevent disease
• maintain health
• treat any existing health problems

Nurses can specialise in different areas of care, including:

• aged care
• child and family health (Opens in new tab)
• community nursing
• mental health
• palliative care
• pregnancy and childbirth (midwifery (Opens in new tab))
• surgery

In Australia, nurses and midwives need to be registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (Opens in new tab) to practise.

Nurses can work in:

• Aboriginal community-controlled health services
• aged care
• community health services
• correctional facilities
• general practice
• public and private hospitals
• schools

In rural and remote Australia, health centres may be staffed by nurses (nursing post).

What types of nurses are there?

Nurses are highly skilled health professionals. There are different types of nurses, depending on their level of training and what roles they can perform.

• Enrolled nurses (EN) — support registered nurses and other members of the healthcare team to give care.
• Registered nurses (RN) — are responsible for overseeing the management of patients in their care. They can supervise ENs and junior RNs. They may also perform leadership roles, such as being a nurse unit manager (NUM).
• Nurse practitioners (NP) — work at an advanced level and prescribe medicines and make referrals to doctors.
• Midwives — give care during pregnancy, childbirth and the first few weeks after birth.
• Endorsed midwife — these midwives have completed additional training and can prescribe medicines and order tests.

Community health nurses

A community health nurse can be a bridge between hospital (acute care) and community services. A community health nurse is usually an RN.

The community health nurse's role can include:

• nursing care
• health counselling
• screening for disease
• health promotion

What to expect during your appointment will depend on the reason for your visit.

There are different situations in which you might see a nurse. You might see:

• a midwife (Opens in new tab) if you are pregnant or having a baby
• a child health nurse (Opens in new tab) if you have had a baby or young child
• a mental health nurse if you are dealing with mental illness or mental health issues
• an aged care nurse if you live in an aged care facility or retirement village

Sometimes, you may have an appointment with a nurse. This may be the case if you are seeing a child health nurse.

Other times, you will see a nurse without having an appointment. The nurse may be supporting your care when you see a doctor or specialist. This may happen at a clinic or hospital.

The questions that you may want to ask a nurse can depend on the reason why you're seeing them.

Some ideas for questions that you might want to ask are:

• Can you tell me what you are going to do?
• Do I really need this test, treatment or procedure?
• What are the risks — are there any side effects?
• What happens if I don't do anything — will I get worse?

Your nurse will be happy to try and answer any questions you have.

Nurses may be able answer questions you may have or give advice on things like:

• how to care for yourself at home
• if you may need any further care

You do not need a referral to see a nurse.

Your doctor may suggest that you get health care services form a nurse.

You can also use healthdirect's service finder to find some nursing services near you.

For more information on the role of nurses, you can visit the Nursing and Midwifery Board (NMBA) website (Opens in new tab).

The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra) (Opens in new tab) keeps a list of every registered nurse and midwife who can practise in Australia (Opens in new tab).

You can call the healthdirect helpline on 1800 022 222 (known as NURSE-ON-CALL in Victoria). A registered nurse is available to speak with you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.