Health Transition Fund Final Report - Projects Listed By Subject Area

experiences of nurses working in the role; and to gauge patient satisfaction with the services
delivered by nurses working in the extended/expanded role;
< conducting an integrated analysis of all data sets to identify key facilitators and barriers to the full
utilization of the extended/expanded nursing role.
Results & Conclusions
The different phases of the research program provides the framework for highlighting key study
findings. The overview of the findings is followed by several important policy implications that emerged
during the data analysis phase.
< Developing a Glossary of Terms for the project proved to be problematic due to the absence
of common understandings of key terms used in the field.
< The Policy and Legislative Frameworks governing nursing practice in the extended/expanded
role were found to be quite variable across provincial/territorial jurisdictions. Overall, the review
indicated that the extended/expanded nursing role has evolved without a consistent policy direction
and is highly dependent upon the circumstances present in the jurisdiction. While traditionally
nurses’ authority for performing primary care functions has been derived through delegated medical
functions, four jurisdictions have enacted legislation to legitimize the extended/expanded nursing
role. The major limitations were noted from a review of provincial/territorial frameworks related
to titling, scope of practice and education requirements.
The findings revealed that several titles are currently in use across Canada to designate
extended/expanded role nurses, ranging from nurse practitioner to primary care nurse to regional
nurse. While the three provinces with legislation in effect have fairly consistent titling within their
jurisdictions, the title for the extended/expanded nursing role varies by setting and by employer in
all other provinces/territories, with the exception of Saskatchewan.
In jurisdictions with legislation, the scope of practice parameters guiding implementation of the
extended/expanded role are very consistent across primary health care settings. This situation was
also observed for Saskatchewan which has a province-wide protocol governing
extended/expanded nursing practice. Significantly, the scope of practice for the extended/expanded
The Centre for Nursing Studies in collaboration with
The Institute for the Advancement of Public Policy, Inc.