The Scope of Private Practice Nursingin an Australian Sample

Abstract

The changing Australian health care system is creating new opportunities for nurses who work directly with clients in private practice settings. This study examines the scope of practice of a cohort of nurses in private practice. In a questionnaire sent to 106 self-employed nurse entrepreneurs, questions were asked pertaining to the participants' scope of practice, their clients, the types of services offered, and their fee structures. Questions about scope of practice were divided into domains of clinical practice, business consultancy, education, and research. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected for a final sample 54 eligible responses. Participants had been in private practice for an average of 7.6 years (range: 1-20) and reported a mean of 21 years of nursing experience (range: 4-42) before entering private practice. Over half held diplomas in specialty areas. Most participants reported clinical practice, consultancy, or education as the primary work domain; research was much less important as a work activity. Nurses reported difficulties with building client base and receiving adequate fees for service, particularly in clinical practice. Increasing awareness within the nursing profession and health sector about various aspects of private practice nursing could improve service quality for their clients.

Nurse entrepreneurs’ well‐being at work and associated factors

“…The Finnish health care system is funded primarily from tax revenue as in the other Nordic countries and the UK and the private sector has mainly a complementary role in the health service system. In recent years, increasing numbers of nurses have been starting up in business not only in Finland but elsewhere (Muscari 2004, Wilson et al. 2004, Caffrey 2005, Faugier 2005).…”

An Evidence-Based Understanding of Entrepreneurship in Nursing

“…6 The limited research in nurse entrepreneurship includes US 5,8 and international studies both from the UK 6 and Australia. 4,7 Although entrepreneurship in the business sector receives significant consideration, it is surprising how little attention is given to entrepreneurship in healthcare in general 9 or nursing in particular.…”

Entrepreneurship Education in Health Care Education

“…Approximately 1% of all nurses work as entrepreneurs [1]. A nurse is defined as an entrepreneur if he or she offers different nursing services in private-sector markets: care, education, research, and administrative work [1][2][3]. Social, political, and economic factors such as an economic crisis, the dissatisfaction of nurses with their work, and changes in the health needs of the population and consumers have caused more nurses to become entrepreneurs during the last decades [1,2,4].…”