A number of Divisions include nurse practitioners (NPs) as members. Those Divisions have found great benefit in this approach, reporting that NPs play an important role by providing perspectives and experiences that support the development of team-based care, a critical part of primary care transformation. Until recently, those Divisions have been paying the additional costs of NP membership themselves.
In July 2021, the BC Ministry of Health began funding infrastructure costs for all Divisions who have brought, or are interested in bringing, nurse practitioners into their organizations. This funding does not come from the Physician Master Agreement, it comes from the BC government.
FPSC values the incredible work of Divisions and family physicians. As shifts are made in the way we practice, it can be beneficial to provide opportunities for a team-based care approach as team-based care is a core element of the patient medical home. This reflects the way we do our planning at the Division level, with diverse voices at the table that reflect the views and perspectives of different team members.
For more information, please refer to the Nurse Practitioner Infrastructure Funding Q&A.
Compensation from NNPBC for NP participation in division activities
Primary care nurse practitioners in BC are eligible for compensation for time spent attending primary care meetings and activities hosted by Divisions of Family Practice. The funding comes from the Nurse and Nurse Practitioners of BC’s (NNPBC) NP Provincial Initiatives Program (NP-PIP) and there are two funding streams:
1. Divisions with full-voting NP members. NPs will continue being compensated via NNPBC Infrastructure Funding (available since fall 2021).
Divisions with full-voting NP members: Central Interior Rural, Central Island, Chilliwack, Comox Valley, Kootenay Boundary, Langley, Northern Interior Rural, Pacific Northwest, qathet, Rural and Remote, South Okanagan Similkameen, and South Peace.
2. Divisions with non-voting NP members (or with no class of NP member). NPs can be compensated via NP DoFP Activity Funding.
Divisions with non-voting NP members: Burnaby, Cowichan Valley, Fraser Northwest, Mission, Nanaimo, North Shore, Ridge Meadows, Sea to Sky, South Island, Sunshine Coast, Surrey-North Delta, Thompson Region, and White Rock-South Surrey.
Divisions with no class of NP member: Abbotsford, Campbell River and District, Central Okanagan, Delta, East Kootenay, North Peace, Prince George, Richmond, Shuswap-North Okanagan, Vancouver, and Victoria.
For further information, please contact Eliza Henshaw, Executive Director, NP Provincial Initiatives and Programs (ehenshaw@nnpbc.com or nppracticesupport@nnpbc.com).
