UNBC - Remote Nursing Certified Practice

Who Should Take this Course?

This course is designed for registered nurses working, or planning to work, in remote communities throughout British Columbia. The College of Registered Nurses of British Columbia (CRNBC) and the Provincial Government, under the Health Professions Act, require nurses in such settings to be certified. NURS 458-6, Remote Nursing Certified Practice, will prepare registered nurses for certification based on criteria specified by the CRNBC.

What is Remote Nursing Practice?

Remote nursing practice is carried out in nursing stations in small, often First Nations or Inuit, communities many kilometers from the nearest hospital. Nurses in remote settings work autonomously within a prescribed scope of practice and collaboratively with physicians or nurse practitioners to provide primary care including treatment of acute illness or injury, health promotion and illness prevention.

Course Description

This course focuses on the competencies required for Remote Nursing Certified Practice. Key content areas are: history and physical assessment, advanced clinical reasoning, informed judgment and pharmacotherapeutics in the management of specified common and predictable health conditions. Management of a dispensary and medication dispensing functions are also included. Content and course evaluation are based on a body-systems approach and incorporate the CRNBC Decision Support Tools for Remote Nursing Certified Practice. An extended workshop focusing on nursing practice in remote communities is included. Upon successful completion students will apply for CRNBC Remote Nursing Practice Certification.

Course Goal

The goal of this course is to provide students with the knowledge and skills to practice safe, evidence-based care for populations in remote settings.

Course Objectives

At the culmination of this course students will be able to:

Provide safe evidence based care to populations in remote settings;

Practice client and community care through a lens of cultural competence and cultural safety;

Promote capacity building by demonstrating a sensitivity to people living and working in remote areas;

Understand the pathophysiology of CRNBC identified common and predictable health conditions managed by remote nurses;

Conduct advanced history taking and physical examination using clinical reasoning and informed judgment to make a differential diagnoses within the scope of CRNBC approved Decision Support Tools;

Conduct appropriate tests and interpret laboratory results;

Understand the management of the dispensary as well as relevant pharmacology and dispensing functions for nurses working in remote settings;

Intervene and manage common and predictable health conditions using pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments based on CRNBC approved Decision Support Tools;

Consult and refer clients at risk;

Recognize adverse events and respond appropriately;

Conduct discharge planning and client education;

Document, evaluate, monitor and follow-up client condition;

Become eligible for Remote Nursing Practice Certification

Course Delivery

This is an on-line course delivered by distance over an eighteen-week period culminating in a face-to-face practice workshop and examination.