I’ve got a NP in the family, she works in Sask which is slightly different than Alberta but mainly the difference is that they are paid a lot less there.
Yes, a NP is technically not as educated as a doctor but they are way more trained than the average nurse. It was at least a couple years of full time education after 20+ years of being a Registered Nurse for the one I know.
Also the NP is often better suited to the more complex cases as they aren’t paid by the patient. Drs get paid per patient so they allot the patient 5-10 min of a 15 min appointment, NPs are salaried (at least in sask) so they often take way more time getting to know the patient and really work through the details do the more complex cases. Yes, if something beyond their expertise comes up they refer to a specialist. Exactly like a general practitioner (dr) would. I’ve heard lots of stories where the NP caught stuff like interacting medications or really weird stuff that fell through the cracks just because they aren’t financially incentivized to rush patients out the door.
I’m all for more NPs in Alberta, I’d prefer a good NP for my family than most of the Drs offices I’ve tried to get into around here the last 15 years.
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