Manitoba nurses pleased by practitioner plan

The union representing Manitoba's nurses says the provincial government's pledge to place more nurse practitioners on the front lines of health care is a positive step for patients.

On Tuesday, the NDP government stated in its throne speech it would set up "quick care clinics staffed by nurse practitioners" to improve the health-care system.

Some family doctors, however, are expressing a desire for more detail on just what is intended by "quick care."

Nurse practitioners are registered nurses who have advanced education degrees and nursing experience that allows them to make diagnoses, order and interpret diagnostic tests, prescribe pharmaceuticals and perform specific procedures, according to the Nurse Practitioner Association of Manitoba.

Details about the government's pledge were slim, but Manitoba Nurses Union president Sandi Mowat said the commitment seems to recognize the role specialized nurses play in delivering primary health care in some cases just as a doctor would.

That's good for patients, Mowat said.

"I'm not advocating that nurse practitioners are replacements for physicians," she said. "I think they are an additive to the health-care system to give patients more choice and more access to primary care."

Currently in Manitoba, there are fewer than 100 nurse practitioners, Mowat said, a tiny fraction of the 11,000 nurses in the province.

But as demand goes up, that will change, she said.

"That's certainly a possibility, but I think that's a good thing. If you talk to patients in the city who have had the opportunity to be seen by nurse practitioners, they are very satisfied with the care they receive."

Doctor seeking clarity

Family doctor Paul Sawchuk told CBC News that he'd like more clarification about what "quick care" means, but believed it likely meant additional nurse practitioners working alongside doctors.

"It sounds like the province might be relying more on nurse practitioners to provide access to primary care to the community and I would think that could use some expansion," Sawchuk said.

The nursing announcement was the latest from the government, which said in lateOctober it was working on a planto allow more nurses to write prescriptions.

The College of Registered Nurses of Manitoba, the regulatory body, has toured countries where RNs write prescriptions and is now developing guidelines and additional training for the drugs that nurses in the province should be allowed to prescribe.

In what was arguably his NDP government's most bold throne speech pledge, Premier Greg Selinger said that by 2015 all Manitobans would be able tosee a family physician at a time and place convenient to them.

Manitoba heads to the polls on Oct. 4, 2011.