Nurse Practitioner

The market for healthcare workers is growing steadily, and because nurse practitioners (NPs) have many of the skills of a physician, hospitals and community health organizations have recognized their value and increasingly hire professionals in this role.

Canadian Business named the nurse practitioner role “Canada’s Best Job in 2019” as it offers significant room for advancement and makes a big difference in patients’ lives. Many NPs become the primary care provider for their patients, meaning they can develop long-lasting relationships. Adding to the rewards of such a career, the average annual base salary of a NP in Canada is $87,966 in family practice and can go up to $98,497 in geriatric practice.

NPs are registered nurses who have additional education and nursing experience. They can provide direct care to patients to diagnose and manage disease and illness, prescribe medications, order diagnostic tests and refer patients to specialists. They treat the whole person and help teach people how to manage chronic illness and offer ways to lead a healthy life.

Nurses with these advanced qualifications work in a range of health care settings, including community health care, physician’s offices, long-term care, hospitals and outpatient clinics.

Students of Canada’s leading nurse practitioner programs will study a range of nursing courses, including advanced health assessment, drug therapy decision making, counselling, the social determinants of health, infectious diseases, mental health, musculoskeletal disorders, and marketing strategies used to promote health products, medications and programs, and more.