UBC Graduate Research

Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinics in British Columbia Stewart, Nicole Alyssa

Abstract

Nurse practitioners (NPs) are increasingly being recognized for their contributions to patient care and potential to improve the population's access to primary health care (Contandriopoulos et al., 2015). Ontario has been renowned for its innovation of the NP-led clinic model as a strategy for delivering primary health care to areas with high volumes of unattached patients: those who do not have a regular primary care provider (DiCenso et al., 2010). In contrast, British Columbia (BC) has lagged behind in the formation and utilization of NP-led clinics. This paper explores the evolution and utilization of NP-led clinics in Ontario, as well as the existence of similar models in BC. It identifies the major barriers to the development of NP-led clinics in BC and provides perspective as to why the NP-led clinic model has been considerably under implemented within the province. Based on this context, further research and strategies to better integrate NPs into the primary health care infrastructure of BC are suggested.

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Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International