The Society has been in existence since the mid 1980’s, with the goals of providing self-employed, independent practitioners with a forum which would ensure the provision of quality care to their clients. It was started by a core group of private nurse practitioners from the Cape, Gauteng and KZN. Many of these private nurse practitioners are still members of the Society.
A core function of the Society from inception was the provision of a forum for independent practitioners to meet with their peers to provide a support network. These forums also provided an opportunity for members to share information and knowledge, with invited speakers where appropriate or possible.
The network of the society was a source of referrals, and also provided a means of identifying suitable persons with whom one could work in association, or who could provide backup when the practitioner became fallible and took much-needed leave or became ill.
At the beginning of 1999, representatives of the regions met and agreed that the Society should work toward becoming a single unified entity. The working group consisted of the chairpersons of each region with the assistance of some committee members. The First constitution was drafted and implemented in 2000.
The Society grew each year through regional meetings and conferences. Membership of the regions of the Society varied over time, and retention of existing members was a major challenge. This was partially due to members not being aware of the work being done behind the scenes on their behalf. It was recognised that there was great potential for synergy between all independent practitioners (hospital, pharmacy and doctors rooms) and the members of the Society.
As the challenges were met the Society continued to grow and in 2013 was registered as an NPO. The registration as an NPO has seen the Society go from strength to strength were it is now represented by 3 branches and 3 branch chapters.
The Society has grown significantly in the past few years, increasing our national membership substantially. There are currently 3 active branches and 3 active branch chapters:
· Cape Branch comprising Western Cape, and part of the Northern and Eastern Cape;
· KwaZulu Natal Branch and part of the Eastern Cape;
· Gauteng Branch with 3 active Gauteng Chapters in Limpopo, Mphumalanga and the North West.
Members who do not live within the regions which are listed are kept informed and invited to attend branch meetings through the National mailing list.
The National office is administered from Cape Town.