The Government of British Columbia (BC) recently announced its vision for an integrated system of primary and community care across the province. This new strategy will improve access to care for patients and their families while maximizing the diverse skills of our health care workforce and includes funding for up to 200 nurse practitioner (NP) positions over the next three years.
At the foundation of this integrated system is team-based care; interdisciplinary teams of practitioners working together in Patient Medical Homes (PMH) to provide wraparound care for their panel of patients. NPs will provide longitudinal care for patients as their primary care provider. The teams will be supported by a Primary Care Network (PCN) that acts as a hub to connect them and their patients to a full range of primary and specialized health care options; streamlining referrals from one provider to another, and providing better support to family physicians, NPs, and other primary care team members.
As you consider your transition into clinical practice, consider being one of the first to participate in a quality-based, transformative, integrated, and coordinated health system that is easy to understand for those who use it and who work in it.
Applicants who are placed in a PCN practice will be engaged through a provincially standardized three-year service contract, developed by the Ministry of Health in consultation with Doctors of BC and the NP Council of the Nurses and Nurse Practitioners of BC (formerly BCNPA).
The service contract will be administered by the regional health authority; however, practitioners engaged through these contracts will be independent contractors. Recruitment is initially targeted to NPs who do not currently have a primary care patient panel.
The service contract rates are competitively set and increase over the term of the contract. Annual rates are intended to also cover overhead costs and provide the NP with the ability to purchase benefits. The service contracts also specify targets for patient attachment.
Please visit our Primary Care Network Webpage for more information including current employment opportunities and community information.
For details about Primary Care Network Opportunities for Nurse Practitioners, download our PCN Information Brochure for Nurse Practitioners.