Canadian Physicians Employing More NPs

According to an article in Canada's National Review of Medicine, physician employment of NPs increased by 30% in the last year. The article includes an informative map listing the numbers of NPs working in each province of Canada. About the numbers of NPs working in Canada, the article says the following:

The numbers may seem small, but given that some provinces had no NP legislation to allow them to work as late as 2006 (PEI was the last), the quick rise is significant.

"Doctors are getting more used to working with NPs," says North Bay General Hospital NP Sue LeBeau. Ms LeBeau spoke to NRM back in 2004 of the scepticism she encountered in doctors when she first started working as an NP. "Initially they were afraid that we're going to put their patients at risk, that we wouldn't know the limits of our knowledge," she recalls. "Now, they're aware that we work within a set scope of practice and we consult appropriately."

In Canada, the scope of practice for NPs differs across provinces, so physicians have expressed confusion about hiring NPs, but nursing groups in Canada say that including more NPs in family practices could increase access to care 10% by the year 2012.

Another recent article on NPs in Canada can be found here.