Ten nurse practitioners and four eligible midwives will be employed at the first standalone NP-led clinic in Australia, opening at the end of September.

The SmartClinics facility, located at Queensland’s Chermside Westfield shopping centre, will be the first of its kind, delivering standalone primary healthcare from NPs and eligible midwives, with the support of a GP.

SmartClinics lead NP Julie Farrelly said patients at the clinic will have access to treatment for colds and flus, vaccinations, wound care, blood tests, repeat prescriptions and medical certificates, health checks, fracture assessment, pregnancy check-ups and more.

Ms Farrelly acquired her Graduate Certificate, Graduate Diploma and completed her Masters Degree at the age of 40, then worked in a busy city emergency department as an NP candidate before becoming endorsed as an NP in 2007.

She then became the first NP employed at the Caboolture emergency department where she worked for three years before joining SmartClinics.

“I was led down the path towards becoming a Nurse Practitioner through my personal need to validate the advanced skills I had developed over many years of general nursing and midwifery,” she said.

“There were many times as the sole registered nurse on duty, when I was required to assess and begin treatment for ill patients or labouring mums and then relay my findings to a GP, who was often many kilometres away.

“I wanted to ensure that my advance assessment skills were accurate and that any treatments I commenced were based on current evidence.”

Ms Farrelly said she loved being an NP.

“It always comes back to my patients and their satisfaction with my care,” she said.

“Nurse Practitioners provide holistic care, right from greeting them at the door through to examining, diagnosing, treating, referring when necessary and discharging them home or to specialist treatment.”

SmartClinics plans to open a second clinic in south east Queensland in the near future.