Examining the potential of nurse practitioners from a critical social justice perspective.

Full Abstract

Nurse practitioners (NPs) are increasingly called on to provide high-quality health-care particularly for people who face significant barriers to accessing services. Although discourses of social justice have become relatively common in nursing and health services literature, critical analyses of how NP roles articulate with social justice issues have received less attention. In this study, we examine the role of NPs from a critical social justice perspective. A critical social justice lens raises morally significant questions, for example, why certain individuals and groups bear a disproportionate burden of illness and suffering; what social conditions contribute to disparities in health and social status; and what social mandate NPs ought to develop in response to these realities. In our analysis, we draw on lessons learned from the initial Canadian experience with the introduction of NPs in the 1970s to consider the renewed and burgeoning interest in NPs in Canada, Australia and elsewhere. As we argue, a critical social justice perspective (in addition to the biomedical foci of NP practice) will be essential to sustaining long-term, socially responsive NP roles and achieving greater equity in health and health-care.

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Author information

Author/s: Browne, Annette J (AJ); Tarlier, Denise S (DS);

Affiliation: University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada. Annette.Browne(-atsign-)nursing.ubc.ca

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't; Review

Journal: Nursing inquiry (Nurs Inq), published in Australia. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2008-Jun; vol 15 (issue 2) : pp 83-93

Dates: Created 2008/05/14; Completed 2008/07/11;

PMID: 18476851, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 11/6/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Australia
Canada
Great Britain
Health Services Accessibility
Health Status Disparities
Healthcare Disparities
Humans
Licensure, Nursing
Nurse Practitioners - education; ethics; organization & administration

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