Professional Practice
Nurse Practitioner
The Nurses Act (1984) was amended in July 2002 to enable the practice of nurse practitioners in New Brunswick. The nurse practitioner role is regulated in addition to that of a registered nurse because the nurse practitioner performs activities that are not considered part of the scope of practice of registered nurses.
Competencies and Standards
The NP role is a nursing role, and nurse practitioners must practise in accordance with all NANB standards. In addition, NPs must practice in accordance with the Standards of Practice for Nurse Practitioners.
The documents Nurse Practitioner Core Competencies and Standards of Practice for Primary Health Care Nurse Practitioners focus on the responsibilities in nurse practitioner practice which require additional regulation by NANB.
Schedules for Ordering
The NP Schedules for Ordering outline the screening and diagnostic tests that may be ordered and interpreted, the drugs that may be prescribed and the forms of energy that may be ordered by the NP. These schedules are established through recommendations of the NP Therapeutics Committee (NPTC) and approved by the NANB Board of Directors and the Minister of Health.
The schedules are located in the NANB document Nurse Practitioner Schedules for Ordering (Revised June 2010):
- Schedule “A” refers to Diagnostic Imaging Tests
- Schedule “B” refers to Laboratory and Other Non-Laboratory Tests
- Schedule “C” refers to Drugs
Requests for changes to schedules may be made to the Nurse Practitioner Therapeutics Committee (NPTC) by submitting to NANB the form NP Request for Change to Diagnostic Tests and Drug Schedules. The NPTC meets at least annually to review change requests.
New Brunswick Prescription Drug Plan Formulary
The New Brunswick Prescription Drug Program (NBPDP) Formulary is a listing of all drugs and drug products which have been determined by the Minister of Health to be entitled services. Such drugs and drug products must be listed in the Formulary in order to be considered current eligible benefits. The formulary is published semi-annually in April and October.
Special Authorization
The prescription of drugs found on Schedule “C” of the NANB document Nurse Practitioner Schedules for Ordering may be subjected to a Special Authorization process for payment purposes. See the New Brunswick Prescription Drug Program (NBPDP) Formulary.
Prescriber Number
A nurse practitioner who is duly registered with NANB will receive a prescriber number from the Practitioner Registrar at Medicare. The prescriber number identifies the NP to the pharmacist as a provider with the authority to write a prescription.
New Brunswick Nurse Practitioner Tuition Assistance Program.
Visit the Department of Health’s website for a description of the program, eligibility criteria and application process.
The Nurses Association of New Brunswick does not assume liability, implied or explicit, for errors or omissions in the information contained on this web site.
Copyright © 2012 Nurses Association of New Brunswick | Contact Us
Affinity Partners:
