Snapshot

APN Role Exists in Country Today:
Yes

Title:
Nurse Practitioner

Nationally Certified:
Uncertain (Nationally Registered)

Recognize Foreign Licensure:
Uncertain

Treatment Authority:
Yes

Prescribing Authority:
Yes

Practice Autonomously:
Yes

Contact:
Fiji Ministry of Health
Fiji School of Nursing

Role

The role of Advanced Practice Nurses (APN) in the Fiji Islands is represented by Nurse Practitioners (Pulcini, Jelic, Gul, & Loke, 2009).  This role was developed to primarily help address the significant primary care needs in the rural communities, especially as 60% of individuals living within Fiji live in such settings with minimal health care access (Joel, 2013).  The first class graduated with their post-graduate diploma in 1999 (Downs, E., Personal Communication, 2013, October 12; Joel, 2013).

The role of NPs in Fiji works under established protocols, allowing individuals some prescriptive privileges (Joel, 2013).  As a result however, there is still need to develop standardized treatment guidelines throughout the region (Joel, 2013).

Education and Certification

To be accepted into an Advanced Practice Nursing program in the Fiji Islands, an individual is required to be either or both a Registered Nurse or a midwife and have a minimum of five years of clinical experience in a health care setting (Fiji National University, 2013).  The program currently is offered at the Fiji School of Nursing, which is now a part of the National University, and transitioning the program to offer Masters degrees to graduates.  This program has become regional and has also graduated individuals from the Solomon Islands, Marshall Islands, Tonga, and Tuvalu (Downs, E., Personal Communication, 2013, October 12; Joel, 2013).

Registration is obtained by the Ministry of Health for all individuals in nursing, midwifery and advanced nursing practice (International Council of Nurses/APN Network, 2013).

Specialties

Nurse Practitioners primarily work in the role of primary health care (Joel, 2013).

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References:
Fiji National University (2013).  School of Nursing.  Retrieved from: http://www.fnu.ac.fj/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1501&Itemid=284

International Council of Nurses/Advanced Practice Nursing Network (2013).  Contact information sheet: Western Pacific, Fiji.  Retrieved from: http://www.icn.ch/details/17/116.html

Joel, L.A. (2013).  Advanced Nursing: Essentials of Role Development [3rd ed.; Electronic Book]. F.A. Davis.  Retrieved from: http://books.google.com/

Pulcini, J., Jelic, M., Gul, R, & Loke, A.Y. (2009).  An international survey on advanced practice nursing, education, practice, and regulation.  Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 42(1),31-39.  doi: 10.1111/j.1547-5069.2009.01322.x