Nurse clinics help nurses lead care, improve access and build services around the needs of their communities

Across Australian primary care, nurses are designing and delivering clinic models that make better use of their skills, knowledge and relationships with patients. Nurse clinics can support prevention, chronic disease management, health coaching, screening, care coordination and other areas of nursing practice where a structured model of care can improve patient experience and outcomes.

APNA’s Nurse Clinics resources bring together practical guidance, real examples and tools to help primary care nurses plan, build and sustain nurse clinics in their own settings.

Whether you are starting with an idea, preparing a business case, working with a practice team or looking for examples from other nurses, this site is designed to help you take the next step.

Understand nurse clinics Start with the Building Blocks Explore real nurse clinics

Start where you are

You do not need to have every answer before you begin. A nurse clinic starts with a clear patient need, a defined model of care and a practical plan for how the service will work.

Use the sections below to find the support most relevant to where you are now.

What are nurse clinics?

Understand what nurse clinics are, how they work in primary care and why they are an important part of team-based, patient-centred care.

What are nurse clinics

Set up a nurse clinic

Work through the Building Blocks to plan your clinic model, funding, workforce, governance, patient engagement and evaluation.

Set up a nurse clinic

Real nurse clinics

Learn from nurses and services that have already designed and delivered nurse clinics across different communities and areas of care.

Real nurse clinics

Funding and budget tools

Explore practical resources to help you think through clinic costs, revenue, sustainability and the business case for your model of care.

Funding

Doctors and practice managers

See how nurse clinics can support proactive, team-based care and help practices make better use of nursing capability.

Doctors and practice managers

Building nurse-led care in primary care

Nurse clinics are one way primary care nurses can use their full capability to respond to patient need, strengthen continuity of care and contribute to more sustainable service models.

Building Blocks

APNA has supported over 100 nurse clinic projects since 2015, helping primary care nurses test, build and share practical models of nurse-led care.

APNA recognises the traditional custodians of land and sea, on whose lands we work and live.
We wish to pay our respects to all traditional owners and Elders past, present and future.