Nurse practitioners are registered nurses with experience and advanced nursing education at the master’s level. Nurse practitioners autonomously diagnose, treat and manage acute and chronic physical and mental illnesses.
As advanced practice nurses, nurse practitioners:
- analyze, synthesize and apply evidence to make decisions about their clients’ health care
- provide a comprehensive range of essential health services grounded in professional, ethical and legal standards within a holistic model of care
- work collaboratively with their clients to establish measurable goals, and identify and advocate to close gaps in health outcomes
The scope of practice for nurse practitioners in British Columbia is set out in the
Nurses (Registered) and Nurse Practitioners Regulation under the
Health Professions Act. The Regulation specifies that nurse practitioners provide activities in accordance with standards, limits and conditions established by BCCNM on the recommendation of the Nurse Practitioner Standards Committee.
Nurse practitioners in B.C. practise in* one of
three streams of practice: family, adult or pediatric. The standards, limits and conditions in this document apply to all three streams of nurse practitioner practice. The entry-level expectations for nurse practitioner practice are set out in the
Entry Level Competencies for Nurse Practitioners in Canada.
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