Mental health education for nurses in general practice

Over the last seven years practice nurse numbers have grown across Australia to over 7,824 (est.) in 2007, with at least 60% of general practices now employing a practice nurse (APNA 2008). Nurses hav~ helped many GPs with overwhelming workloads which include dealing with complex mental health complaints, such as depression and anxiety related to chronic disease conditions. Practice nurses are a key component in primary health care with one nurse to every 2.3 GPs in 2007 (APNA 2008