Unseen, Unheard, Undervalued—Advancing Research on Registered Nurses in Primary Care

Original Presentation: October 6, 2020

Funding model reforms have resulted in an increase in the number of nurses working in primary care practice. Family practice nurses are a key member of primary care teams working alongside physicians, social workers, pharmacists, family members and other members of the healthcare team. However, there remains a lack of clarity about the roles of family practice nurses and the contributions of their care to outcomes, as well as the absence of thoughtful leadership and coordinated efforts to advance the evidence in family practice nursing. In this presentation, Dr. Julia Lukewich, will describe the current state of family practice nursing in Canada, discuss challenges to advance the evidence on the role and contribution of family practice nurses, and provide recommendations to facilitate the advancement of nursing research that addresses the provision of primary care. Some of the challenges discussed include the absence of standardized terms to refer to nurses who work in primary care, a lack of distinction surrounding different regulated nursing designations that work in primary care, and the need for greater visibility. High-quality research will strengthen the evidentiary base from which to educate providers, inform administrators/policymakers, and improve primary care outcomes.

Presenter:
Dr. Julia Lukewich RN, PhD, MUN Faculty of Nursing

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