Increase nurse practitioners

Re: Our critical family doctor shortage — Sharon Kirkey, Feb. 16

In the conversation with the National Post, Dr. David Barber underscores a significant effect of the shortage of primary care providers in Canada — the progressive fading of the comprehensive approach, which, in turn, can have a negative impact on preventive care and lead to worse health outcomes.

While increasing the number of family physicians is a pressing matter, elevating the number of nurse practitioners should also find its way to the top of the decision-makers’ priorities.

British Columbia is one of the examples of how putting more emphasis on increasing the number of nurse practitioners could prove beneficial. In the Ourcare survey mentioned by Sharon Kirkey, as many as 27 per cent of respondents from the province do not have a primary care provider they could refer to. Despite that, there are only four programs that lead to a nurse practitioner certification recognized by the B.C. College of Nurses and Midwives. Only one of those programs is taught in Metro Vancouver and offered an average of 33.4 seats per year between 2018 and 2022.

The scarcity of nurse practitioners is compounded by the extent to which it is difficult to access nursing schools, as shown in a 2021 report about Nova Scotia by the CBC, which called attention to the unavailability of seats and very high admissions averages.

In other words, it is not only hard to become a nurse practitioner but also to get into the nursing profession in the first place.

There is substantial evidence underscoring the benefit of broader integration of nurse practitioners into primary care, including better access to health care and the potential to save money.

Canadian provinces should consider expanding access to nursing to those wanting to become nurse practitioners — this could preserve preventive care and allow the governments to save money and reinvest it in diverse priority areas.

Hubert Michalus, Vancouver