Nurse practitioners — also known as registered nurses — will soon have the authority to diagnose common health problems in patients as well as six chronic health conditions, including hypertension, diabetes and asthma, according to a news release issued by the college Saturday. Quebec Health Minister Danielle McCann made a surprising announcement this week when she stated doctors were ready to cede more ground to nurses in medical clinics. Nurses want to have a parallel system alongside doctors, Barrette explained, while most doctors don’t want change. Prof. Yannick Melancon Laitre, nurse director at McGill University’s primary care nurse practitioner program, said Quebec has been debating the authority of registered nurses since 2012. “But in order to do that you need nurse technicians, auxiliary nurses, and nurse practitioners,” he said.

Source: National Post February 23, 2019 21:00 UTC