Canadians approve of expanded role for nurse practitioners, survey suggests

Canadians approve of expanded role for nurse practitioners, survey suggests

Excerpts:

TORONTO - Most Canadians are in favour of an expanded role for nurse practitioners, with three in four saying they would be comfortable seeing a nurse practitioner instead of their family doctor, a new survey suggests.

The Canadian Press Harris-Decima survey found that 88 per cent of respondents would be comfortable being treated by a nurse practitioner at a walk-in clinic. And 74 per cent said the same about having their regular physical done by a nurse practitioner.

Nurse practitioners have more qualifications than a nurse and can diagnose patients, as well as provide some treatment, refer people for testing and prescribe some medication.

"People have a lot of trust in nurses and recognize that many, many nurses are very knowledgeable about the kind of day-to-day types of issues that many people come to their doctor to check on - just doing the physical, or 'My kid's got a cold or the flu or something, what do I do?"' said Jeff Walker, Harris-Decima's senior vice-president.

"I think there's a recognition that you don't always need to see a doctor for some of those kinds of things."

The survey found that one in five respondents reported having been treated by a nurse practitioner, although Walker acknowledged some may not have known whether the person treating them had the exact credentials.

There are nurse practitioners across the country, but more in some provinces than others. For instance, there are only 72 nurse practitioners in Manitoba, but upwards of 1,300 in Ontario, according to associations representing the profession.

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