Nurse Practitioners in Canada: a Benefit or a Liability?
The role of nurse practitioner in the Canadian healthcare system is relatively new compared to the traditional roles of doctors and registered nurses, and as with any new role, there are people who oppose the changes and others who appreciate them. Some members of the public and the healthcare system believe that the addition of the nurse practitioner (NP) role is an unnecessary change and liability to the system because it blurs the line between a doctor and a nurse; this is because nurse practitioners are registered nurses with additional training (usually a masters degree) that allows them to expand their scope of practice into some areas which can be treated by doctors. Other people feel that nurse practitioners can help provide additional primary care services, while bridging communication between nurses and doctors. There are always legitimate challenges to be overcome when changing a system as complicated as healthcare,
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Unfortunately, as every Canadian knows, money is not limitless. Therefore, in situations where nurse practitioners can provide the same necessary treatments as a doctor, the nurse practitioner (whose fees are lower) should be used; doing so would also allow the doctor to attend to the more complicated cases that their extensive training prepared them for. Furthermore, there are remote and rural regions in Canada that have difficulty obtaining medical resources. Although nurse practitioners do not have the eight or more years of medical school and residency that doctors have, as discussed above nurse practitioners are capable of providing many of the emergency medical services a person might need. In an emergency situation, a trained healthcare provider who can meet most needs is better than no healthcare provider at
Role clarity and title confusion pose barriers to the amalgamation of advanced practice nursing roles. Colleagues and the public are unaware of the precise roles of the APN. Much of what the public knows about medicine is associated with a doctor, and the “doctor knows best” (Safriet, 2011). The public i...
Both Nurse Practitioners and Nurse Practitioner-students work closely with patients to monitor their health and provide care for acute and chronic illnesses. However, in the academic-clinical setting, the NP-student may only perform this function at the discretion of the supervising NP. Although work environments and responsibilities bestowed upon these distinctive nurses can be quite different, Nurse Practitioners, Registered Nurses and students is bound to the same laws and regulations governed by all states and territories that have enacted a nurse practice act (NPA). The NPA itself is insufficient to provide the necessary guidance for the nursing profession, therefore each NPA establishes a state board of nursing (BON) that has the authority to develop administrative rules or regulations to clarify or make the governing practice law(s) more specific (NCSBN
... wait times and the problem of our physician shortages. Becoming aware of the reasons why our physicians leave Canada, will be the stepping stone to create/match the attractive deals that steal them from us. The shortage of our physicians and the long wait times in the emergency room is closely connected. The government needs to look at all propositions that have been mentioned in order to fix these issues. There are all kinds of advanced health care providers that can help with this problem by aiding in the emergency rooms and remove the burden of overworked physicians. If we organize our health care providers in a new way, the wait times in our emergency rooms could be greatly reduced. The public should take control of their health by not tolerating the present state of affairs. Their health is being harmed by extended wait times and lack of health care workers.
...hat take place regarding health policy. Primary care reform is taking place across country. (Krieger, 2013).Canada is working towards integrating nurse practitioners in all provinces which may help lower wait times (Johnson & Stoskopf, 2010).
Canada’s Health Care system is gradually growing to be a major concern in today’s society with providing Canadians with the standard of care they deserve. Health care has become an issue because of the shortage of doctors in Canada; many of them are either going to the U.S.A. or going to other countries to practice in hospitals and clinics. The earning cap imposed by the government has forced doctors to work fewer hours than are necessary to serve the public. Many Canadians are without a doctor to help them with their needs and emergency rooms are filled to capacity with no available beds for those who have to be admitted to the hospital. Waiting time for specialist and specialty tests have become so long that someone diagnosed with a major illness may die before they can be properly treated. Nurses and others in the medical field are overworked and understaffed because the government has made cut-backs to the Health Care System. We live in a country where our health care is a privilege to have, but getting ill is becoming a problem if there is not adequate facilities and professionals to care for the sick. Today’s society is aging longer than ever and will need health care longer than before; patients recovering from hospital stays are being sent home more quickly than ever before, and terminal patients are being sent home for their last days.
Nursing is a knowledge-based profession within the health care sector that focuses on the overall care of individuals. According to The American College of Nurse Practitioners (ACNP), “defines nurse practitioners as registered nursed who have received graduate-leveling nursing education and clinical training, which enables them to provide a wide range of preventative and acute health care services to individuals of all ages. They deliver high-quality, cost effective care, often performing physical examinations, ordering tests, making diagnoses, and prescribing and managing medication and therapies”. Nurse Practitioners are able to specialize in a particular area, such as family and adult practice, pediatrics, and women’s health; and refer patients to other specialist when necessary. Some Nurse practitioners work under the supervision of a physician; while others run their own practices.
Patient RW is a 72-year old male that came into the hospital by ambulance from an assisted living facility in the Des Moines area. Patient RW has lived fulltime in an assisted living facility since 2013. His daughters come and visit him daily and are also by his side in the evening while he is staying in the hospital. His support system is small, but is very involved in his cares within the living facility and the hospital. He was admitted to 7 South for chest pain and is on continuous telemonitoring and on four liters of oxygen. According to his daughters, he is an average Christian, with no religious or culture aspects that would affect the health care that needs to be given. Though, no religion or culture is affecting care, his past
Main, R., Dunn, N., & Kendall, K., (2007). ‘Crossing professional boundaries’: barriers to the integration of nurse practitioners in primary care. Education for Primary Care, 18, 480 – 487. Mundinger, M., (1994).
About 32 million people will represent the newly insured, affecting the health care system and nurses are the fundamental in health system. Health care reform is positive for nurses. The health care bill provides money for advance practice and general nurse education. The law also creates a grant program for innovative safety net programs, such as nurse-managed health clinics. Due to the shortage of family Physicians, nurse practitioner programs are going strong. The health care reform is a good opportunity for nurses; the law will permit different approaches to deliver primary care and with the decreasing number of physicians going in to primary care, Nurses represent the best way to provide primary care to the millions of new insured people. (Satowski, 2010)
Healthcare is viewed in an unrealistic way by most individuals. Many people view a physician as the only means to find a solution to their problem. Nurses are still seen by some as simply “the person who does what the doctor says.” This is frustrating in today’s time when nurses are required to spend years on their education to help care for their patients. In many situations nurses are the only advocate that some patients’ have.
Healthcare is a continuous emerging industry across the world. With our ever changing life styles and the increased levels of pollution across the world more and more people are suffering from various health issues. Nursing is an extremely diverse profession and among the highest educated with several levels ranging from a licensed practical nurse (LPN) to a registered nurse (RN) on up to a Doctorate in Nursing. Diane Viens (2003) states that ‘The NP is a critical member of the workforce to assume the leadership roles within practice, education, research, health systems, and health policy’.
Although most nurses do not get enough recognition in medical environments, nurses often do the same tasks as physicians. Even though becoming a doctor requires more education, nurses are the staple of American medicine. From Florence Nightingale to present day, nurses continue to build relationships and provide care for a wide variety of patients. There are differing views regarding the importance of nurses, but I believe they are just as important as physicians and can make just as much of an impact as any other medical provider.
Many people in our community think being a registered nurse simply means having the degree, working in a hospital and getting paid. Being a registered nurse implies all of these plus many other duties and responsibilities for taking good care of patients and their families as well as a good professional relationship with other health care personnel. In order to assess the professional role of a registered nurse in today’s health care system, one can ask questions from the nurse or the people they work with, or read some professional writings about what they do either our communities and hospitals.
From over-crowding and long waiting lists to staff shortages which have knock on effects resulting in inadequate skills mix and unacceptable nurse-patient ratios. An aging population, high birth rates and an increase in chronic diseases also puts pressure on the healthcare system. The nursing role has had to evolve in response to changing societal needs and the challenges in the healthcare system today. (McCurry et al. 2009). This can bring additional challenges to nurses’ professional identity. ??
To briefly summarize, the report identifies nurses as an important factor in enabling access to high quality, affordable health care. This was supported by the development of four fundamental recommendations. The first suggests that nurses be allowed to practice within the scope of their degree. This becomes evident in the differences in state laws that pertain to nurse’s who have acquired advanced degrees, such as the nurse practitioner.... ...