Nurse Practitioners require legal autonomy

Giving advanced health providers—including nurse practitioners—legal control over their practices would leave less doubt over medical liability says Dr. Rita Schreiber of UVic's school of nursing. Schreiber was commenting on concerns expressed recently by the Canadian Medical Protective Association over physicians’ legal liability for the practice of other health care providers required to practice collaboratively with a physician. The CMPA identified that such arrangements blur the lines of accountability and raise the possibility that a physician might be held liable for the actions of other care providers. “The situation is very unclear right now,” says Schreiber who has been involved with nurse practitioner implementation in two provinces. “Nurse practitioners should have control over the scope of their practice. It’s important that their education and training provide them with an understanding of what it means to be a practicing professional.” New legislation for nurse practitioners is expected to be introduced in B.C. in the spring.

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