Nova Scotia is highlighting nurse practitioners this week and the important work they do.
Nurse practitioners (NPs) are independent health-care professionals who provide a range of duties, including:
- assess patients
- diagnose patients
- provide diagnostic tests like CTs, MRIs, bloodwork
- send referrals to specialists and follow up on important care
- admit and discharge patients from hospitals
The president of the Nurse Practitioners’ Association of Nova Scotia, Aprill Susin, says nurse practitioners in the province have a wider scope of care than those working in other provinces.
“So, it’s different among every province what the scope of nurse practitioners is. Ideally, we will come to a stage where we have NPs throughout Canada all doing the same work,” said Susin. “But in Nova Scotia, we have one of the largest scope of practises, meaning that we can do more activities, such as admitting and discharging patients from hospital.”