Awareness and Acceptance of the Nurse Practitioner Role in One BC Health Authority

: The Interior Health Authority (IH) is one of six health authorities in British Columbia, whose goal of delivering the best possible healthcare services to its residents requires proven and innovative healthcare delivery strategies. The nurse practitioner initiative is one such strategy used by IH. The following paper describes marketing strategies and early evaluation results of the awareness and acceptance of the nurse practitioner (NP) role in IH. Multiple marketing strategies were used prior to and after NP hiring. Three evaluation questions focused on people's awareness of and willingness to be seen by a NP instead of a doctor for minor illnesses or health maintenance. Evaluation results were consistent with evaluation results of other provincial and national studies.