Expanding the Role of the Nurse

Abstract

It is now widely accepted that improvement of efficacy and efficiency of our health services necessitates, among other things, a realignment of functions or roles of health workers. Considerable time has been devoted to thought and discussion of the roles of various members of the health team, and physician and nurse are often at the centre of controversy. There seems to be little doubt that these two members can in cooperation arrive at a more effective use of their respective skills and time in working to meet the health care needs of people. Many factors point to the necessity for nursing to take broader responsibility in the health field. The School of Nursing at McGill University responded to this imperative by establishing a nurse internship of two months following upon the baccalaureate degree program. Experience for the plan is found in four ambulatory care centres and places are provided for sixteen interns. At the present time there is a nurse coordinator from the School in each area who is responsible for the planning and for a considerable amount of teaching