What is a Nurse Practitioner?
Nurse Practitioners are nurses with advanced nursing degrees and nursing experience. Nurse Practitioners also have developed advanced decision-making skills in the assessment and diagnosis of acute illnesses and injuries. They are health care professionals who treat the whole person, addressing needs relating to their physical, emotional, mental and spiritual well-being; gathering their medical history, focusing on how their illness is affecting their lives and their family; offering suggestions for people to lead a healthier lifestyle, managing chronic discomfort/pain and illness.
As a Nurse Practitioner, they can:
- Order diagnostic testing
- Diagnose and treat illnesses
- Prescribe medications (do not prescribe narcotics or anti-anxiety agents)
Where do Nurse Practitioners work?
You will find Nurse Practitioners in many health care settings such as:
- Community care (community clinics, health care clinics, doctor’s offices, and in patients’ homes delivering a wide range of services
- Hospitals (outpatient clinics, emergency rooms, hospitalist programs)
- Long term care (nursing homes)
- Nurse Practitioner led clinics (with collaborative physician oversight)
What are the benefits of having a Nurse Practitioner?
All Nurse Practitioners bring value to the health care system for the following reasons:
- They involve their patients in decisions relating to their care.
- They improve access to primary health care.
- They reduce pressure on the health care system.
- They provide high quality management of chronic illnesses.
- Nurse practitioners’ are valued and trusted by their patients.
Who is a part of the North Channel Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinic?
The North Channel NPLC is managed by an Administrative Lead and a Clinical Lead. The professional team includes Nurse Practitioners, a Registered Nurse, a Registered Practical Nurse, a Social Worker and Administrative Assistant. The team works collaboratively to provide quality health care to our patients.
Our hours of operation are 8:30 am to 4:30 pm from Monday to Friday. After hours appointments are accommodated upon request.
How do I become a patient?
At this moment, we are not taking new registrations. Please check back regularly for updates. Unattached patients can register with Health Care Connect by calling 1-800-445-1822 or go online to ontario.ca/healthcareconnect.
To become a patient of the North Channel Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinic you will need to contact the clinic to complete a registration form. Once completed, after receiving approval from the clinic director, you will be offered an appointment.
NB*- The North Channel Nurse Practitioner Led Clinic only is able to accept patients who do not currently have a family physician or a health care provider.
Who Consult a Social Worker?
People from all age groups and all walks of life consult social workers. Social workers provide services to individuals, couples, families, groups, communities and corporations.
Why Should I Consult a Social Worker?
- People consult social workers when they are going through a difficult period in their personal, family and work life. Social workers help identify the source of stress or difficulty, help people to develop coping skills and find effective solutions to their problems, offer various forms of counselling and therapy, and mediate between conflicts.
- Social workers provide the majority of counseling and psychotherapy services in Ontario.
- Social workers provide a variety of services, including:
- individual, family and couple assessment and counseling
- psychotherapy
- mediation/alternate dispute resolution
- custody/access assessments
- employee assistance programs (EAPs)
- adoptions
- career/employment counseling and placement
- vocational assessments/rehabilitation
- stress management
- counseling for eating disorders
- grief, loss and trauma counseling
- addictions counseling
- mental capacity assessment