Nurse practitioners gather in London to discuss new horizons

Nurse practitioners (NPs) from across the province are gathering in London this week to embrace new horizons in their practice at the annual Nurse Practitioners' Association of Ontario (NPAO) conference.

"NPs are leading new and innovative approaches that address the key challenges facing our health-care system. They are reducing wait times in emergency departments, increasing access to primary health care in NP-led clinics and family health teams, reducing transfers of elderly residents from long-term care homes to hospitals, reducing length of stay and ensuring patients are ready for discharge from hospital and helping patients and families navigate through the health-care system. They're also helping to solve issues around system integration and effectiveness. The conference will give us a chance to share our success stories with the Minister of Health," says NPAO President, Pamela Pogue.

Nurse practitioners are registered nurses with advanced education and decision-making skills to diagnose and treat common illnesses and injuries, prescribe medications, and order lab tests, X-rays and other diagnostic tests. Nurse practitioners are skilled health-care providers who work in their own clinics as well as a variety of other health-care settings. Research has demonstrated that nurse practitioners provide safe, effective, quality care to their patients.

"By bringing their knowledge and leadership to health-care teams, nurse practitioners are making sure people get the care they need, and supporting them in all health-care settings and across all sectors of health care," says Tina Hurlock-Chorostecki, president-elect of NPAO."Every day, we see the positive impact that NPs are having on the health-care system and the communities they serve. Their expert care is benefiting tens of thousands of people across the province," says Wendy Fucile, President of RNAO. "Expanding access to health care by increasing access to nurse practitioners is something that will benefit everyone in Ontario," adds Doris Grinspun, Executive Director of RNAO.

• WHAT: 11th Annual Nurse Practitioner Conference hosted by the Nurse Practitioners' Association of Ontario (NPAO) and the Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario (RNAO).
• WHO: More than 400 nurse practitioners and advanced practice nurses. - Minister of Health and Long-Term Care, David Caplan (Friday, November 7, 2008 at 11:45 a.m.)
• WHERE: London Convention Centre, 300 York Street, London, Ontario
• WHEN: November 6 - 8, 2008 (8:30 a.m. to 5:15 p.m.)

The Nurse Practitioners' Association of Ontario (NPAO) represents the professional interests of all nurse practitioners in Ontario. NPAO is an expert group of the Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario. NPAO's mission is to achieve full integration of nurse practitioners to ensure accessible, high quality health care for Ontarians. The Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario (RNAO) is the professional association representing registered nurses wherever they practise in Ontario.

Since 1925, RNAO has lobbied for healthy public policy, promoted excellence in nursing practice, increased nurses' contribution to shaping the health-care system, and influence decisions that affect nurses and the public they serve.

http://www.npao.org/