Nurses driving improvements through PHN initiatives

Two general practice nurses in the Brisbane North PHN region are helping drive meaningful improvements in preventive care through their strong engagement with PHN-supported initiatives, delivering better outcomes and strengthening quality improvement.

Their efforts highlight the important role practice nurses play in turning quality improvement initiatives into practical changes that support healthier communities.

Through their involvement in Brisbane North PHN programs, both nurses have contributed to increased vaccination uptake, improved participation in cancer screening programs, enhanced patient data quality and more culturally responsive care.

Teresa Andrews, a practice nurse at Doctors at Eatons Hill, is celebrating her 40th year in nursing. Her career has spanned maternal and child health, rehabilitation, aged care, palliative care, orthopaedics and rural health, including work at Dirranbandi Hospital where she helped raise $15,000 to purchase an ultrasound machine.

At Doctors at Eatons Hill, Brisbane North PHN support has helped the practice promote COVID-19, MMR and influenza vaccination initiatives, strengthen cultural awareness, introduce multilingual consent forms and improve the way family and social history information is recorded and maintained.

Teresa said these PHN initiatives have helped improve her practice’s processes and patient care.

‘As with any initiative, it will change things for the better with better patient outcomes,’ she said.

‘[These initiatives] improve patient overall health, make staff aware of cultural needs and improves vaccination rates.’

Yolanda Chen, a nurse at SmartClinics Chermside, has been with her practice for almost five years, beginning as a receptionist while studying nursing before transitioning into a clinical role.

‘I really enjoy building relationships with patients and supporting them to improve and maintain their health,’ Yolanda said.

Alongside patient care, Yolanda is actively involved in quality improvement projects, staff training and accreditation activities. With support from Brisbane North PHN, her practice has focused on increasing participation in cancer screening programs, and improving vaccination uptake.

Since the start of this year, the practice has also focused on improving the collection of demographic information, including ethnicity, language spoken at home and interpreter requirements. The work has been supported by cultural competency training, greater use of interpreter services and multilingual patient resources.

Yolanda said Brisbane North PHN's support has helped the practice become more proactive in identifying opportunities for preventive care and improving patient engagement.

‘What I've appreciated most is that the support has been very practical and tailored to our needs,’ she said.

‘Whenever we've had an idea for a quality improvement project or wanted to improve a particular area of patient care, the PHN has been available to provide advice, resources and encouragement to help us get started and keep moving forward.’

The resulting improvements have strengthened data quality, streamlined workflows and helped staff identify patients who may benefit from cancer screening, vaccinations and other preventive health initiatives. They have also improved communication with culturally and linguistically diverse patients by ensuring interpreter needs are identified earlier and appropriate resources are available.

A key benefit has been the opportunity to collaborate and share learnings across practices. With practices having the same ownership, Teresa and Yolanda have been able to exchange ideas, discuss successful initiatives and adapt quality improvement activities across different clinics.

Yolanda said working across multiple clinics has created opportunities to standardise successful processes, compare data and share practical solutions.

‘Because we're all working towards similar goals, it's easier to share successful initiatives, resources and learnings across clinics,’ she said.

‘If we implement a successful process or quality improvement activity in one clinic, we can often adapt it for other sites.’

Both nurses encourage practices that have not yet engaged with Brisbane North PHN to explore the support available.

Yolanda said even small quality improvement projects can have a significant impact.

‘Brisbane North PHN has a wealth of resources, knowledge and support that can help practices improve patient care and streamline processes,’ she said.

‘The PHN team is supportive, approachable and genuinely wants to help practices succeed.’