Mrs Phillippa southwell1, Mrs Laura Lunardi1
1Specialty Medicine 1, Royal Adelaide Hospital Renal Services, Adelaide, Australia
Biography:
Bio to come
Abstract:
Background:
The Haemodialysis (HD) Nurse Practitioner (NP) role was introduced within a satellite HD unit in South Australia to enhance patient’s care. Dialysis nurses work closely with NPs, this study explored their perceptions of the HD NP role to evaluate effectiveness and inform service improvements.
Methods:
A cross-sectional survey was conducted in August 2025 among HD nurses, one year after the NP role was implemented. A 15-item questionnaire using Likert scale assessed nurses’ understanding of the role, perceived importance and efficiency, impacts on patient-centred care, prescribing effectiveness and interprofessional collaboration. One open-ended question captured suggestions to strengthen the service.
Results:
Fourteen nurses participated. Perceptions of the HDNP role were highly positive, strong agreement that it is essential for supporting HD patients. All respondents agreed that timely NP prescribing is necessary, most strongly agreed that the role enhances patient-centred care, improves service efficiency and decreases the number of healthcare professional’s patients need to interact with. Participants reported increased patient satisfaction, better treatment adherence and more effective use of medical staff time. Interprofessional collaboration was seen as strengthened and nurses described greater engagement in quality improvement and research. Suggestions for improvement included increasing NP availability, ensuring consistent weekday coverage and expanding weekend or on-call support.
Conclusion:
Dialysis nurses expressed highly positive perceptions of the HD NP role. The role is viewed as integral in delivering efficient, patient-centred care, fostering collaborative practice, supporting continued expansion of NP services within HD settings.