The University of Victoria will be training 15 new nurse practitioners this fall with the expectation that they will help boost the number of professionals able to offer primary care to those without a family doctor.
New funding of $532,500 from the province will expand the number of seats available in the Master of Science in Nursing – Nurse Practitioner program to 50 places this September.
"There is high interest in this program and the continued growth of the nurse practitioner workforce is critical to meeting that acute need for primary health care,” noted UVic School of Nursing director Lenora Marcellus in a news release.
Nurse practitioners are registered nurses with a broader scope of practice, including the ability to diagnose and treat health issues, order and review lab and diagnostic tests, prescribe medications and treatments, fill out extended health forms, and initiate referrals for people to see other health care specialists.
UVic is one of four universities in B.C. that offers graduate-level training for nurse practitioners to work in primary health care. UVic says they have a robust nurse practitioner program that started in 2003 and has graduated 315 practitioners to work in the health-care system.
The B.C. government is increasing the number of nurses educated to become nurse practitioners as part of its plan to boost the number of family doctors and other health-care professionals to keep pace with expected population growth and to close gaps in the health-care system.
