General practitioners' perceptions of the nurse practitioner role: an exploratory study.

AIMS: To explore perceptions of general practitioners (GPs) in the Northland District Health Board (NDHB) regarding the nurse practitioner (NP) role, identifying their knowledge of and perceived problems with that role, and their experience of nurses in advanced practice.

METHODS: A purposive sample of all 108 GPs in NDHB were surveyed. Fifty replied, representing a response rate of 46.3%.

RESULTS: GPs favourably viewed NP functions traditionally associated with nursing, such as health teaching, home visiting, obtaining health histories, and taking part in evaluation of care, but less favourably viewed those functions associated with medicine, such as prescribing, ordering laboratory tests, and physical assessment. While expecting few problems with patient acceptance, the GPs felt that funding and doctors' acceptance would be problematic. Most GPs indicated they have knowledge of the NP role and have experienced working with a nurse in advanced practice, but some uncertainty and lack of knowledge about the NP role was evident.

CONCLUSIONS: More education and discussion with Northland GPs is needed to ensure they are fully informed about the NP role and its potential positioning in primary healthcare, to reduce uncertainty, minimise role confusion and promote collaboration between GPs and NPs.