Could nurse practitioners fill the primary care gap?
Could nurse practitioners fill the primary care gap?
More than 6.5 million Canadians are without a family doctor. Some would like to see nurse practitioners step in to ease the crisis in primary care
Nurse practitioners could help fill the void, advocates for the profession say, if more provinces would adopt policies to integrate them into primary care and pay them fairly for their work. Some physicians’ organizations have pushed back against that approach, arguing that NPs don’t have as much training or education as family doctors and therefore should only be funded publicly when they’re embedded in interdisciplinary teams with MDs.
Aren't these the same organizations that have been dragging their feet on recognizing foreign credentials?
I've been seeing a nurse practitioner for the last couple of years. So far, she's provided the same level of care I'm used to from family doctors: prescriptions, forwarding me to specialists when appropriate, providing the usual advice during checkups. It's fine.
Edit: took out my grumbly summary, since our healthcare spending seems to be middle of the pack, compared to peer countries.
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Could nurse practitioners fill the primary care gap?
Not if we can't provide childcare for those nurses to be able to work.
Nurse Practitioner. I know "Nurse" is in the name, but they are completely separate jobs.
We're splitting hairs: "Nurse practitioners (NPs) are registered nurses who have additional education and nursing experience..." (SOURCE)
The same need for childcare still applies, no matter where on the spectrum of nursing someone decides to be on.
I agree with your points on childcare, though I don't think this is the right place to discuss it.
I disagree about splitting hairs. Being specific helps avoid confusion. So many times in discussions about utilizing more Nurse Practitioners, either online or in person, someone says something like, "I don't think I'd trust a Nurse with that. What do they know about diagnosing conditions, etc, etc, etc." It's gotten better over the past little while, but the confusion is real, and I think it's worthwhile to keep it clear.
Fair points re:the distinction for those who don't know the difference.