P.E.I. officials hope new nursing powers will help boost recruitment, improve access to care
The government of Prince Edward Island says it is optimistic that regulation changes for nurses in the province will help boost recruitment and improve access to care.
On Tuesday, the province said it had introduced regulatory changes to allow registered nurses (RNs) with advanced certification to prescribe, dispense and administer certain drugs.
It is also moving to officially recognize registered psychiatric nurses, or RPNs, as a distinct profession.
"The advantage is we can now recruit new nurses that we didn't have," said Laurae Kloschinsky, P.E.I.'s assistant deputy minister of health. "It also will allow those working in a registered-nurse capacity to learn to broaden their skills with additional training."
Kloschinsky said she thinks nurses from out of the province will want to come work on the Island because of these new designations.
She said P.E.I. is the first province in Atlantic Canada to regulate RPNs.
P.E.I. is the first province in Atlantic Canada to regulate RPNs, said the Island's assistant deputy minister of health, Laurae Kloschinsky. (Wayne Thibodeau/CBC)
Marion Dowling, Health P.E.I.'s chief of nursing, said the College of Registered Nurses and Midwives of P.E.I. is in charge of approving the programs that registered nurses will take to get the qualifications to begin prescribing medicine.
She said she is hoping Island nurses will be able to begin taking those courses in the fall, and start prescribing in the new year.
When that begins, Dowling said Islanders may see nurses in settings like primary care, specialized care and home care who have the ability to prescribe medications to speed up the process of patients getting relief for their ailments.
P.E.I.’s chief of nursing, Marion Dowling, said Islanders may see registered nurses prescribing medication in primary-care settings as well as during home-care visits and in other specialized care areas. (Wayne Thibodeau/CBC)
When it comes to RPNs, Dowling said recruitment is happening now.
RPNs are trained to care for people with mental and developmental health needs. They will work in Island hospitals, long-term care facilities, clinics, patient medical homes and community mental health centres.
Dowling said she believes these regulatory changes will improve the patient experience in P.E.I.
"These are really very good steps toward improvements in our system and access to care for clients and patients," she said.
