Comox Valley Nursing Centre: From Collaboration to Empowerment

Abstract

The Comox Valley Nursing Centre was initiated as a two year demonstration project by the Registered Nurses Association of British Columbia (RNABC) and funded by the Ministry of Health. The purpose of the project was to demonstrate innovative nursing practice in a primary health care context. Findings from the project were expected to inform provincial health care planning, nursing scope of practice, and health and nursing policy development. A free standing nursing center was planned and implemented through a collaborative effort by RNABC, nurses and community residents. An external team of researchers evaluated the project using a variety of methods, including participatory action research. During the project an innovative nursing practice, based on principles of collaboration, developed and has continued during the extended provincial and regional funding of the Centre. Drawing from the evaluation findings, case studies and using Henneman, Lee and Cohen's (1995) concept analysis of collaboration, this paper describes how the principles of collaboration were actualized or suppressed. The paper examines how collaboration impacted empowerment for nurses, clients and the community. Lessons learned about the reciprocal relationships between collaboration and empowerment, implications for nursing practice, and how the approach can contribute to a better understanding of the impact of collaborative practice approaches on health care delivery are discussed.

Supply and Distribution of Primary Healthcare Registered Nurses in British Columbia

“…Although some studies have described the work of PHC-RNs (Andrews et al 2005;Clarke and Mass 1998;Wong et al 2006), more work is needed to examine the degree to which PHC-RNs are involved in delivering the core functions of PHC or enacting the principles of PHC across geographic regions. This aim could be accomplished through additional analyses of college registration data, future inclusion of questions addressing nursing roles and functions on college registration forms or both.…”

Balancing Empiricism and Local Cultural Knowledge in the Design of Prevention Research

“…Rather, an emphasis is placed upon the empowerment of individuals and communities through the research process. [2][3][4] Therefore, community members are centrally involved in all aspects of the prevention research process-including the design, implementation, and evaluation of interventions. Moreover, the separation between researchers and community members is deemphasized.…”

How Can the Empowerment Role of Public Health Nurses (PHNs) Be Fostered? A Review of an Exploratory Research Study Conducted in Ireland and Current Evidence

“…The participants in "the study" perceived that they needed their organisation to facilitate their empowerment. Clarke and Mass (1998) examined how empowerment and collaboration when actualised impacted on clients and nurses in British Columbia and recommended that if nurses are to integrate the principles of empowerment and collaboration in their practice, changes in healthcare reform must focus on vesting professional nursing organisations with sole authority to govern nursing, granting nurses authority for aspects of care necessary for care within the scope of advanced nursing practice and revising of reimbursement mechanisms to pay for these essential health care services.…”