Looking for a doctor in Strathmore or Chestermere? Well, it seems that the majority of the population are in that same situation.  

The COVID-19 pandemic has put stress on the health care system in more ways than one, but the recent struggle of finding a primary care provider in rural Alberta has put even more stress on the general population.  

Right now, on AlbertaFindADoctor.ca, the nearest doctor accepting new patients is at East Hills Shopping Centre in Calgary.  

There is another option for Albertans looking for primary care though that not a lot of people know about – nurse practitioners.  

Jennifer Danielsen, a nurse practitioner in Chestermere, explained that people in her field are educated health care providers qualified to take care of most health issues.  

"Nurse practitioners have a Masters of Nursing or a Ph.D. Typically, they are registered nurses first which is a four-year program, then they need to get around 5,000 hours of work experience.” 

After they gain three to five years of nursing experience, nurse practitioner hopefuls then go to grad school for another two to three years of schooling. 

Danielsen explained that there are two paths nurse practitioners can take. One is more specialized towards adults and work in the hospital, and the other works with all ages and works in communities out of primary care clinics.  

Danielson works out of a clinic in Chestermere and has a list of patients with all sorts of needs.  

“The main difference between doctors and nurse practitioners is when we are working in the hospital, we have different admitting privileges as well as some barriers with specific private insurance companies. This is really just legislation that we are trying to work through with the government.” 

Nurse practitioners have the skills to order any diagnostic imaging such as bloodwork, MRIs, and ultrasounds Danielsen explained, “We also have the training to do some minor procedures like lipoma removal, mole removal, and IUD insertions.” 

“Unfortunately, we do have a physician shortage right now, and nurse practitioners are a great compliment to all levels in the health care system.” 

There are a large group of Albertans that do not have a primary care provider at the moment. Danielsen said that having a primary care provider helps with preventative health such as screenings, follow-ups, and adjusting treatment as people age.  

“We can be really, needed because we don’t have that many physicians in Alberta, and we have a lot of unattached patients. Nurse practitioners are able to provide patients with health care that they need and we can take the log off of hospitals, emergency rooms, and walk-in clinics.” 

She also explained that nurse practitioners often bring a different perspective by having more time to listen and work with their patients.  

While there is another avenue for health care, it does not completely solve the issue of few doctors in rural Alberta.  

Strathmore Mayor Pat Fule explained that they have tried in the past to get more doctors to Strathmore. 

“In one of my first couple of years on Council, we had a doctor shortage and it was one of the reasons we sold the piece of land between the new town hall and the Hi-Ho gas and grocery store. We sold that because there was a developing company that was going to put in a big three-story building that would have doctors' offices and pharmacies on the lower level.” 

Fule explained that they were hoping that the new facility would attract doctors. He said that they also brought a lot of final-year medical students from the University of Calgary to Strathmore to show them what the area had to offer. 

“I think the other thing that we would need to do quite quickly is set up a meeting or bring in local doctors, and doctors' representatives and just get to the heart of it and find out exactly what it is we're facing. They're the professionals, and they know the situation in town, so I think it would be remiss of us not to get them involved early on.” 

AlbertaFindADoctor.ca is a great resource to help find a doctor. Even though many are in the city, there are some who are offering virtual appointments on request.