Abstract
Background
The primary health care (PHC) nursing workforce is growing to meet the demand for
community based health services. To facilitate the recruitment and retention of nurses
in PHC settings it is important that positive employment conditions exist.
Aim
To explore the employment characteristics of Australian PHC nurses, including employment
patterns and remuneration considerations.
Methods
A descriptive survey of Australian PHC nurses was conducted during 2015 as part of
a larger mixed methods study. This paper reports the survey findings relating to employment
patterns, conditions and remuneration.
Findings
One thousand one hundred sixty six nurses responded to the survey, most respondents
were employed in general practice and many were employed part-time. Rates of pay were
significantly lower for those employed general practice compared to other PHC settings.
Most respondents hadn’t received a pay increase in the last 5 years. There were considerable
differences in the allowances received between nurses employed in general practice
and other PHC settings.
Conclusion
Whilst more nurses are moving into PHC, the remuneration and allowances differ between
PHC settings and continue to lag behind the acute sector. To attract skilled younger
nurses to meet future workforce requirements, there is an urgent need to review pay
and conditions in PHC nursing. Equally, PHC nurses must develop skills to better negotiate
their employment conditions and remuneration and industrial organisation must continue
to support industrial advances in this area.
To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
Purchase one-time access:
Academic & Personal: 24 hour online accessCorporate R&D Professionals: 24 hour online accessOne-time access price info
- For academic or personal research use, select 'Academic and Personal'
- For corporate R&D use, select 'Corporate R&D Professionals'
Subscribe:
Subscribe to CollegianAlready a print subscriber? Claim online access
Already an online subscriber? Sign in
Register: Create an account
Institutional Access: Sign in to ScienceDirect
References
- EBA 2016 private sector.2016 (from)
Australian Bureau of Statistics (2016). Wage Price Indexes FAQs. Retrieved April 9th, 2017, from http://www.abs.gov.au/websitedbs/D3310114.nsf/home/Wage+Price+Indexes+FAQs.
- National practice nurse workforce survey 2003.2003 (Accessed 30 May 2010). Retrieved from http://generalpracticenursing.com.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/15378/National-Practice-Nurse-Workforce-Survey-2003.pdf
- Rural, remote and metropolitan areas (RRMA) classification.1994 (Accessed 14 November 2016). Retrievedfrom http://www.aihw.gov.au/rural-health-rrma-classification/
- Australian nursing and midwifery workforce data and additional information.2014 (Canberra, Australia: Retrieved from http://www.aihw.gov.au/workforce/nursing-and-midwifery/additional/)
- General practice nurse national survey report. Manuka.ACT: Australian Medicare Local Alliance, 2012
- How_to_read_the_Nurses_Award-June2013.pdf.2013 (from)
- APNA salary and conditions survey.2010 (Accessed 5 September 2016), Retrieved from http://www.apna.asn.au/lib/pdf/Careers/SalaryandConditions/2010SalaryandConditionsSummary.pdf
- APNA salary and conditions survey.2014 (Accessed 13 November 2014), Retrieved from http://www.apna.asn.au/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=APNA/ccms.r?PageId=11061
- APNA salary and conditions survey.2016 (Retrieved from)
- Retaining public health nurses in rural British Columbia: The influence of job and community satisfaction.Canadian Journal of Public Health. 2004; 95: 54-58
- Recruitment and retention of nurses: Challenges facing hospital and community employers.Canadian Journal of Nursing Leadership. 2004; 17: 79-92
- Organizational structure and job satisfaction in public health nursing.Public Health Nursing. 2004; 21: 564-571
- A systematic review of what factors attract and retain nurses in aged and dementia care.Journal of Clinical Nursing. 2010; 19: 156-167
- Job satisfaction and turnover intent of primary healthcare nurses in rural South Africa: A questionnaire survey.Journal of Advanced Nursing. 2011; 67: 371-383
- Practice nurse incentive program.2016
Fair Work Commission. (2010). Nurses Award 2010. Retrieved April 9th, 2017, from http://www.fwc.gov.au/documents/documents/modern_awards/pdf/MA000034.pdf.
- Australian primary health care nurses most and least satisfying aspects of work.Journal of Clinical Nursing. 2017; 36: 535-545
- The evolution of nursing in Australian general practice: A comparative analysis of workforce surveys ten years on.BMC Family Practice. 2014; 15: 52
- A study of school nurse job satisfaction?.Journal of School Nursing. 2004; 20: 88-93
- The influence of funding models on collaboration in Australian general practice.Australian Journal of Primary Health. 2017; 23: 31-36
- Nursing and Midwifery Board stat.2015 ([from])
- Retaining older nurses in primary care and the community.Journal of Advanced Nursing. 2009; 65: 1400-1411
Article info
Publication history
Published online: April 15, 2017
Accepted:
March 31,
2017
Received in revised form:
December 6,
2016
Received:
September 16,
2016
Identification
Copyright
© 2017 Australian College of Nursing Ltd. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
