Nurse Practitioners

[huntinstuff]

Originally Posted by Ariu

I do not understand why the med schools here in Canada, do not adapt the European system? The med schools here require a degree (four years) as prerequisite followed by four other years of med school. (not to mention volunteering hours required, the interview, diversity hiring and so on....)
In Europe you can start medicine school from day 1 and finish it in six years.
EU system has a two years advantage, plus the premed courses can be much better adapted for the following med courses.

I believe it's because post secondary is a business first, not an educational institution first.

[Jtenkink]

I’ve got a NP in the family, she works in Sask which is slightly different than Alberta but mainly the difference is that they are paid a lot less there.
Yes, a NP is technically not as educated as a doctor but they are way more trained than the average nurse. It was at least a couple years of full time education after 20+ years of being a Registered Nurse for the one I know.

Also the NP is often better suited to the more complex cases as they aren’t paid by the patient. Drs get paid per patient so they allot the patient 5-10 min of a 15 min appointment, NPs are salaried (at least in sask) so they often take way more time getting to know the patient and really work through the details do the more complex cases. Yes, if something beyond their expertise comes up they refer to a specialist. Exactly like a general practitioner (dr) would. I’ve heard lots of stories where the NP caught stuff like interacting medications or really weird stuff that fell through the cracks just because they aren’t financially incentivized to rush patients out the door.

I’m all for more NPs in Alberta, I’d prefer a good NP for my family than most of the Drs offices I’ve tried to get into around here the last 15 years.

[Grizzly Adams1]

Originally Posted by Ariu

I do not understand why the med schools here in Canada, do not adapt the European system? The med schools here require a degree (four years) as prerequisite followed by four other years of med school. (not to mention volunteering hours required, the interview, diversity hiring and so on....)
In Europe you can start medicine school from day 1 and finish it in six years.
EU system has a two years advantage, plus the premed courses can be much better adapted for the following med courses.

I believe in Europe most doctors are essentially civil servants when it comes down to it, you just get a salary which isn't that great either.

[pikergolf]

Originally Posted by Sundancefisher

Looks like a great program to help rural areas get improved care.

https://alis.alberta.ca/occinfo/cert...-practitioner/

Need 4500 hours of nursing experience or 562 days at an 8 hour shift.

Nurse practitioners can’t do all the same stuff doctors can however they can also phone doctors to consult as needed in remote treatment.

People still have the option to go see a doctor if they want.

It would appear the time and effort needed to become a nurse practitioner is difficult and maybe more will do it if the pay is better. I suspect most don’t want the added stress of this new level of care.

https://www.ualberta.ca/nursing/abou...ctitioner.html

Ideally a NP would work in a Dr's office, the first step so to speak, more difficult stuff would be passed on to the family doc and if done right could be the same day. Reduce wait times and have the little stuff done by the NP.

[Sundancefisher]

Originally Posted by pikergolf

Ideally a NP would work in a Dr's office, the first step so to speak, more difficult stuff would be passed on to the family doc and if done right could be the same day. Reduce wait times and have the little stuff done by the NP.

Agreed

There is already that set up in some offices in Alberta and it’s more common in Ontario.

Small rural towns and reserves desperately need a NP as it is not sustainable for a doctor.