The value of nursing in primary care in 2025

Marilyn Eveleigh shouts loud about the value of nurses in primary care, who see patients through many health and personal life changes; building relationships and trust. Working in a general practice setting means you know your patients better than most nursing disciplines, she says. This article is part of the How Nurses Count series. 

I’m a Registered Nurse, one of more than 788,000 of us. Everyone knows a nurse: we live in every neighbourhood, coming from every social class.

I’m proud to be a nurse. Since 2016, the Ipsos annual survey indicates nursing has consistently been the most trusted profession. This will be no surprise to most patients, colleagues and employers. Nursing makes a difference to lives on a daily basis, guiding patients through their healthcare voyage.

Working in a general practice setting means you know your patients better than most nursing disciplines: patients rarely change surgery over the years, and general practice nurse (GPN) turnover is very low.

GPNs always come with previous nursing experience, often of lone working and significant responsibility, wanting to combine the science of medicine with the art of caring for the longer term. As a consequence, we see patients through many health and personal life changes, building relationships and trust.

This trust leads some people to seek out a nursing opinion – often whether you are working or not. They share fears and concerns (often displaying a body part or bodily fluid to illustrate) in a bid to seek perspective, guidance and support. I’m certain many readers will identify with this experience.

Patients confide in nurses monitoring their care; it is not unusual for them to report not taking their prescribed medication or adopting a necessary lifestyle change – but won’t tell the doctor or prescriber.

GPs, hospital specialists and patients consider the GPN as the crown jewel in most primary care services

These days, GPs, hospital specialists and patients consider the GPN as the crown jewel in most primary care services: be that management of long-term conditions, triaging, cytology screening, immunisations and vaccinations, women’s health and contraception or wound management. Effective patient treatment, seamless teamwork and practice income depends on the underpinning organisational skills and detailed clinical knowledge and prescribing options held by general practice nurses.

Registered nurses are influential, in hospital settings and especially in primary care. All members of multidisciplinary clinical teams rely on our clinical insight and relationships we hold with patients and their families.

Nurses are not subordinates – we are expected and trusted to take decisions. Having a chronic disease is often a burden to patients requiring long term treatment, specialist tests and frequent reviews, lifelong medication adherence and fluctuating morale.

Nurses provide the ongoing safety, support and coordination for patients on their lifelong journey. It is not a nursing task: it is holistic nursing at its best.

Nurses advocate and challenge more than ever before

In 2025, nurses advocate and challenge more than ever before, bringing transparency to patient care and integrity to service planning.

For new emerging clinical roles, pharmaceutical advances and support to healthcare businesses, the critical thinking and professional accountability of nursing needs to be harnessed.

Marilyn Eveleigh is advisor to Nursing in Practice.