For remote communities, access to timely health care is often provided at Island Health community health centres by specially trained registered nurses known as Remote Certified Practice RNs, or RN(c)s. These specially trained registered nurses provide a wider range of services in remote primary care clinics, closer to home.
"We are committed to delivering high-quality care in our rural and remote communities, and the RN(c) designation enables our team to better serve people in these areas,” said Gaylene Jacobson, rural health services manager.
The certification, awarded by the British Columbia College of Nurses and Midwives, equips these nurses with the knowledge and skills to provide expanded primary care services, including assessing, diagnosing, and treating common illnesses and injuries, providing reproductive and sexual health services, and prescribing medications for specific conditions.
For Jennifer Vass, a RN(c) working in Kyuquot, it was the lifestyle of a Remote Certified Practice RN that attracted her to the role. She had been working in an emergency department on the mainland for many years when the stress of the COVID-19 pandemic had her feeling like it was time to make a big change career wise.
“I love the West Coast, and here was a role that was seven weeks on, seven weeks off, and I can take a boat to work… it sounded like an adventure,” Vass said. “The biggest change I’ve noticed is that patients I am treating aren’t strangers like the ones I cared for in the emergency department. There’s only 280 people in Kyuquot—these are friends, family, people I’m embedded with. As a nurse here, you are a part of the community.”
The sense of community is something Michael Fry also noticed about his experience as an RN(c) in Zeballos.
“We work in a niche area—our scope as RN(c)’s is broader, and I work by myself in a one-nurse outpost,” Fry said. “You develop deep and trusting relationships with everybody in town. People come to see me not just when they have a urinary tract infection or are in crisis; sometimes they come in just to talk and feel better about something going on in their lives. It makes the role unique.”
Fry also noted how having a broader scope provides benefits to patients by being able to access more services on the spot, rather than having to travel. “In Zeballos, the nearest hospital is 90 minutes away. However, I offer phlebotomy in the clinic, so they don’t need to drive out of town to do their blood work.”
The Rural Coordination Centre of BC (RCCbc) is a network of support and resources to help improve healthcare in rural and remote communities across B.C. In 2020, RCCbc launched a new resource for RN(c)’s to provide even better care. It’s called real time virtual support, where an RN(c) can have an on-the-spot video call with other providers such as an emergency doctor, pediatrician, or obstetrics and gynecology doctor to help with a patient’s assessment.
“It’s enhanced my practice by having someone to run things by,” Vass said, adding, “And I think it’s helped to foster trust in the community.”
Recently, registered nurses Jennifer Leslie Jones and Silja Hitchen achieved their certification as Remote Certified Practice Registered Nurses (RN(c)) in Port Alice. The education required for the certification equips them with knowledge and tools to ensure safe, evidence-based care can be tailored to the unique needs of rural and remote populations.
"I'm excited to apply my enhanced knowledge and skills to provide more comprehensive care to my patients and to support the overall health and well-being of our tightly-knit community," said Jones.
Hitchen echoed her colleague's sentiments. "As a rural nurse, I understand the importance of access to quality health care close to home,” said Hitchen. “Achieving the RN(c) designation allows me to play a greater role in meeting the diverse healthcare needs of Port Alice residents, supporting our local physicians in their practices, and to make a positive impact on patient outcomes."
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