New program will see Kelowna doctors hire nurses to help share workload in family practices

KELOWNA – People without a family doctor in Kelowna could be linked up with a primary care provider as part of a new provincial recruitment strategy.

Nurses are being recruited to family practices via a new nurse-in-practice program announced today, April 7, in a media release from the B.C. Goverment.

Six family physicians in Kelowna have shown interest in bringing nurses into their clinics. Both licenced pratical and registered nurses will be recruited over the coming months.

“I’m excited to take part in this opportunity to add a nurse to the clinic,” Kelowna family physician Dr. Janet Evans says in the release. “This represents a future model of primary care that will help me provide an innovative approach for my patients.”

In order to determine what type of nurses are best suited for each practice, doctors will have to complete an overall patient population assessment, the release says. The assessment will give doctors an idea of what specific skill sets are needed for their office.

The province says seven physicians are starting practices in the Central Okanagan this year.

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