New Alberta program grants nurse practitioners autonomy, advocate says

Nurse practitioners have primarily been employed in different models since the 1960s.

Alberta’s Nurse Practitioner Primary Care Program was implemented back in April, and has shown signs of success in rural municipalities, the Alberta government says.

Jennifer Mador, president of the Nurse Practitioner Association of Alberta, said Wednesday that nurse practitioner-led clinics have been around since 2007, starting in Ontario.

Mador said that what’s significant about the new program is the funding that is provided by the Alberta government.

“The way that nurse practitioners are currently operating and delivering care is not changing. But the way that they’re funded is what is the big announcement,” she told CHAT News.

“When we have nurse practitioners that can only access employment options through health authorities or primary care networks, it limits their autonomy, and their ability to go out and use their skill set to provide care. And this removes those barriers.”

Mador explained the significance of autonomy when it comes to nurse practitioners.

An employer can dictate how much one can make, what services they can offer, and how many patients a practitioner can roster to themselves.

Autonomy wouldn’t necessarily mean isolation for nurse practitioners as individuals, but rather create more access points in unreached areas of the province.

Mador said that with the new program established this year, an incentive was created for practitioners to reside in smaller, rural areas.

“Most of our rural areas would have a registered nurse who’s who’s likely embedded in that community, and what some provinces have done in the past is a “grow your own” approach,” she said.

“So the registered nurses who are already embedded and rooted in those communities can up skill through virtual programs like what are available at Athabasca and stay and reside in those communities, rather than leaving to go to school, and then bring that increased scope of practice to their community,”

Athabasca University has the largest nurse practitioner program in the country.

With record numbers of registered nurses applying for schooling, the nurse practitioner role is the most rapidly growing profession in Canada.

No corner of the province of Alberta should go unsupported with the addition of the new government funded program.

by Jayk Sterkenburg

New Alberta program grants nurse practitioners autonomy, advocate says

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