FAQs ABOUT THE NURSE PRACTITIONER

​

• What is a Nurse Practitioner?

NPs in Alberta are experienced registered nurses who have completed a Master’s (MN:NP) or Doctorate degree (DNP) in the area of primary care/family practice. 

 

Nurse practitioners integrate in-depth knowledge of advanced nursing practice and theory, health management, health promotion, and disease/injury prevention, to provide a wide range of health care services. They are able to provide care to clients of any age.

 

Nurse practitioners are completely independent health professionals and require no outside supervision of their practice. Their care is grounded in professional, ethical and legal standards set down by the Alberta Health Professions Act and regulated through the Alberta college of nursing . 

​

• What can a Nurse Practitioner do?

Nurse practitioners are able to provide full health assessments, diagnose illnesses, and can treat acute and chronic illness in a comprehensive manner. Nurse practitioners order and interpret x-rays and other radiology tests, order and interpret laboratory tests, perform procedures (such as IUD insertion, suturing, removing lump and bumps, etc.) and prescribe medications. They can also make referrals to specialists when needed. ​​

​​

• Who can register with the Nurse Practitioner?

Anyone wishing to do so, may register with the NP. However, we recommend this service in particular for those patients who are either not insured with Alberta Health or do not have a provincial insurance card from federal Canada (RAMQ cards from Quebec are not accepted in Alberta for primary health care provision).

 

The services offered by the Nurse Practitioner are not yet covered by the provincial insurer in Alberta. Similar to the services offered by physicians that are not insured by Alberta Health (such as medical notes, or driver's medicals) there is a small fee that must be paid before seeing a Nurse Practitioner. The fees of the NP, however, are generally lower than those requested by most family physicians. For this reason, we would like to recommend the NP services especially for those who are not insured by Alberta Health or are visiting from Quebec and find it hard to access medical care in Alberta due to very high costs associated with doctors' appointments.

​​

• What you should know before you register with a Nurse Practitioner

As already mentioned above, the services offered by the NP are not insured by Alberta Health, therefore, you will have to pay a small fee before seeing the Nurse Practitioner. It is likely that this will change and the service will soon be insured either under the Alberta Health Care Insurance Plan (AHCIP) or by private insurers such as Alberta Blue Cross, Manulife, Canada Life, and others.​

 

We also would like you to know that you can have both a Nurse Practitioner and a Family Physician as your primary care providers at the same time. Some choose to register only with one, while others prefer to access both. One does not necessarily replace the other and the chart is shared so that each provider knows what the other has recommended, etc.

​

• I do not wish to register with a Nurse Practitioner but I need to be seen on a walk-in basis and no doctor is available; does the NP offer walk-in consultations?

Yes! The NP can see you on a walk-in basis. However, contrary to most services offered by family physicians, services offered by NPs are not insured by Alberta Health. If no doctor is available for a walk-in slot because all slots have already been filled for the day, we may suggest that you see the NP. If you are insured under Alberta Health, you will have to pay only a $27 fee to see the NP on a walk-in basis.

 

If you are not insured under the AHCIP because you are a long/short term visitor to Canada or you are visiting from Quebec or you are uninsured for any other reason, we would offer you to see the NP as a first option as the fees of the NP are lower than those of physicians for uninsured patients.

​​

• I was asked if I accepted to consult a student NP, do I have to pay for this service?

No. If you are asked if you would like to be consulted by a student NP, you will receive a free service like when you see your family physician.

 

Each semester, CRMC receives two student NPs from the University of Saskatchewan and Athabasca University. These are final year students who are completing their clinical practice at our clinic in order to prepare for their future career as independent Family Nurse Practitioners. They work under the supervision of a Family Physician or Nurse Practitioner. If you are consulted by a student Nurse Practitioner, your consultation will be reviewed by a Family Physician or Nurse Practitioner who are already fully licensed and your standards of care will not suffer. Instead, you will help students gain the clinical experience and knowledge needed in order for them to practice safely and adequately once they complete their studies.

 

Nonetheless, you have the right to refuse to be consulted by a student Nurse Practitioner or Family Medicine resident doctor without any prejudice for your care.​​