A nurse practitioner works with other health care providers as part of a collaborative family practice team. Nurse practitioners are registered nurses with advanced knowledge and education in primary health care.
A nurse practitioner can diagnose health conditions such as asthma, COPD, diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure and others, order and interpret tests including blood tests, X-rays, ultrasounds, and MRIs, prescribe medications, perform exams and procedures, such as pap tests, prostate exams, and immunizations and much more, including teaching patients how to manage an ongoing health condition and offer ways to lead a healthy life.
Partnering in Community
Nova Scotia Health is committed to ongoing recruitment for various positions within our healthcare teams, including nurse practitioners. Showcasing the community is key to successfully attracting health professionals and partnering with the community helps make potential staff feel welcome.
As part of a rural recruitment strategy, Harbourview Lodge applied for and received a grant in 2021, through Healthcare Excellence Canada, to help develop tools to showcase their communities. RPM Productions was hired to create a video that highlights all the wonderful reasons to work and live in this part of rural Nova Scotia. The video will be used at job fairs, community meetings and on Nova Scotia Health recruitment websites and local websites. Check out the video on the Eastern Shore Musquodoboit Community Health Board You tube channel. https://youtu.be/zGLixeGepOs
Our People
Meet Kara Evers, nurse practitioner (NP) at the Musquodoboit Valley Family Practice. She joined the nursing profession “late” compared to many of her colleagues who have felt the call to nursing at an early age. Kara worked as a tree planter, clothing designer, and an English language teacher in Korea before returning Nova Scotia in 2008 to complete a BSc in Nursing. She worked as an ICU nurse at Dartmouth General Hospital for five years, then completed her Master of Nursing and joined the team at Musquodoboit Valley Family Practice in 2020. Kara started her NP practice at the height of the Covid pandemic, so she has never seen the full faces of most of her patients due to mask-wearing, but she remains hopeful that day will come.
Emergency Services
Nova Scotia Health is now providing the anticipated monthly scheduled for emergency services at both Musquodoboit Valley Memorial and Eastern Shore Memorial Hospitals. To view anticipated operation hours visit www.nshealth.ca/temporaryclosures
Your Health, Your Community is a contributed column from Nova Scotia Health. If you have comments or questions, we want to hear from you at [email protected].