Primary care nurses feel under-appreciated: Survey

The leading professional group for nurses working in primary health care says Australia's health care system is being diminished because the skills and talents of its members aren't being used to their fullest. A new survey of more than 2,000 primary health care nurses has found one-in-four believe they're under-used and could be doing more to maximise their skills.

President of the Australian Primary Health Care Nurses Association, or APNA, Karen Booth says better recognition of the work nurses can help with retention levels.

She says that's especially important now - by 2030, it's predicted that at the current retention and training levels, the Australian medical system will be about 100,000 nurses short of the expected demand from an ageing population.