When the Bulkley Valley / Witset Primary Care Network opened to the public in January spring of 2023, Deborah Lowe was one of two the first Nurse Practitioner hired to work in the Smithers Primary Care Clinic. The Smithers Primary Care Clinic is a new clinic, which is part of the Primary Care Network.The Primary Care Network or PCN is a new facility open to residents of the Bulkley Valley who are in need of care and currently do not have a Family Doctor or Nurse Practitioner.
This is one part in an ongoing series by CICK news to break down the Health Human Resources Strategy, a plan to optimize the health system, expand training and further improve recruitment and retention, which began in 2017.
The strategy will support patients who rely on the public health-care system by adding more doctors, nurses and health sciences professionals, adding new education and training seats, taking actions to improve retention and to optimize the system to help with workload.
The strategy will focus on four key areas:
- Retain: Foster healthy, safe and inspired workplaces, supporting workforce health and wellness, embedding reconciliation, diversity, inclusion and cultural safety and better supporting and retaining workers in high-need areas, building clinical leadership capacity and increasing engagement.
- Redesign: Balance workloads and staffing levels to optimize quality of care by optimizing scope of practice, expanding and enhancing team-based care, redesigning workflows and adopting enabling technologies.
- Recruit: Attract and onboard workers by reducing barriers for international health-care professionals, supporting comprehensive onboarding and promoting health-care careers to young people.
- Train: Strengthening employer supported training models; enhancing earn and learn programs to support staff to advance the skills and qualifications; expanding the use of bursaries, expanding education seats for new and existing employees.
Click on the link below to listen to nurse practitioner Deborah Lowe's interview with CICK News about her position in the community and how PCNs are improving access to healthcare for British Columbians.