PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Scherer, K.
AU  - Fortin, F.
AU  - Spitzer, W. O.
AU  - Kergin, D. J.
TI  - Nurse practitioners in primary care. VII. A cohort study of 99 nurses and 79 associated physicians
DP  - 1977 Apr 23
TA  - Canadian Medical Association Journal
PG  - 856--862
VI  - 116
IP  - 8
4099  - http://www.cmaj.ca/content/116/8/856.short
4100  - http://www.cmaj.ca/content/116/8/856.full
SO  - CMAJ1977 Apr 23; 116
AB  - Long-term surveillance of the employment experience and developing roles of 99 nurses and 79 associated physicians who participated in the first 5 years of the McMaster University educational program for family practice nurses was undertaken with a descriptive survey. Data were gathered by mailed questionnaires; a 97.8% response rate was attained. Sociodemographic profiles of both groups and characteristics of the practice setting where copractitioner teams functioned were determined. Selected noteworthy results show that 92.7% of the nurses were currently employed, and that 82.5% of the graduates continued in their original practice. Nurses' time invested in patient care activities increased by 105%; time devoted to clerical and housekeeping duties decreased by 42%. Changes in roles for both categories of copractitioners were important. The interdisciplinary arrangements resulted in appreciable financial disadvantages to physicians and only modest income incentives to nurses. A series of successes of the model of practice under assessment has been identified; offsetting ongoing difficulties and problems have also been enumerated. The data from this project and preceding studies can facilitate the solution of unresolved problems on the basis of evidence rather than opinion.