For more than a year nurse practitioner Sandra Lachapelle has been dividing her time between teaching nursing at Thompson Rivers University Williams Lake campus and working as a nurse practitioner at various rural posts in the Chilcotin.
She’s been a nurse for 17 years, but three years ago she quit her job and returned to school, studying in the nurse practitioner program at the University of Northern B. C. After graduating in 2010 she was hired in October for the position in the Chilcotin.
The position was vacant when she applied.
She says a study was done in 2007 about the needs in the Chilcotin corridor, and in 2008 a proposal was put forward of what health care could look like.
“A nurse practitioner was part of it, along with a primary care physician and a primary care remote certified nurse,” Lachapelle says. “The only one that kind of worked out so far was the nurse practitioner.”
In October 2011, she began sharing the position with another local NP, Lorrie Toop, who graduated from UNBC in 2011.
“We were in the same cohort at university,” adds Lachapelle.
When she first started, Lachapelle wondered if it might take time for people to warm up to visiting an NP, but quickly found because rural medical centres are mainly staffed by remote certified nurses, visiting a nurse wasn’t a “bizarre” concept.
“We can do a little more than a remote certified nurse. I can diagnose conditions, do referrals to specialists, order almost every test, except for an MRI, and prescribe medication,” she says, adding she’s had great support from physicians who also visit the communities.
The main health issues she sees in the Chilcotin are diabetes, chronic disease management, and acute ear and nose infections among children.
“I would say diet is the biggest problem because it’s so hard to get fresh fruit and vegetables out there, especially in the winter. You look at Nemiah — it’s three hours out and on a dirt road. They don’t come to town for groceries all the time,” she says.
It’s been a big learning curve, and up until now, she hasn’t spent much time in the Chilcotin, yet she’s enjoying the challenge.
“The autonomy appeals to me. You kind of have your own practice and there’s a lot of team work. It’s always interesting and there’s never two of the same thing,” she notes. The practice gets busier and busier and because NPs can be considered primary health-care providers, in place of a family doctor, more people are considering the nurse practitioners theirs.
“It’s nice to get to know people in a longitudinal manner instead of seeing them episodically like you do in a hospital,” she explains.