Nurses' Role in ACP in the Community
Nurses in the community may have many opportunities to start a conversation or provide information about ACP while they are providing clinical care. Their clients may also raise issues with them about what will happen in the future.
This can be an opportunity to explore whether the person has thought about their preferences for the type of care they would like to receive.
The nurse can also ask if the person has prepared any written documents and check that the appropriate people have access to them.
Nurses may also be able to provide information and brochures about ACP and ACDs.
Nurses providing care in the community are well placed to check if the person would like to review or think about their ACDs. They can also encourage an older person to prepare plans while they are still well and cognitively able to do so. Nurses can check that the family are aware of the person’s wishes or identify if there are concerns about family disagreements about future options.
Nurses working in the community should check what resources their organisation or agency has relating to ACP.
There are a wide variety of materials that are available for use in the community and these can include general information or specific documents.
This may be something that can be discussed in team meetings or meetings with supervisors.
Nurses could discuss with their employer whether packages could support ACP activities or come up with an agreed strategy to help their clients undertake ACP.
Organisations should note that there are no dedicated Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) Items for advance care planning. General practitioners must ensure that the requirements for the services are met. These requirements are set out in the Medicare Benefits Schedule.
Read
guidance on the use of Medicare Benefits Schedule Items (182kb pdf) that could enable GP involvement in ACP if appropriate.
Page updated 04 December 2023