The Canadian healthcare system is experiencing significant strain due to a growing and
increasingly complex patient population, coupled with provider shortages. Consequently,
patients are increasingly seeking emergency room care to address their healthcare needs, further
exacerbating the burden on already overwhelmed emergency services. In response, communities
in Ontario and Alberta have begun integrating nurse practitioners (NPs) into their emergency
settings. This review aims to explore the patient experience of adults receiving NP-led care
within the emergency department.
Peer-reviewed literature from 2000 to the present were explored using Academic Search
Complete, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and Medline OVID. Findings highlighted that NPs
enhance the patient experience by fostering patient empowerment and promoting open
communication, leading to increased patient satisfaction. Furthermore, NPs improve access to
care by reducing wait times, decreasing length of stay, and minimizing instances of patients
leaving without treatment. The established public trust in nurses extends to NPs, exhibiting
positive patient perceptions of NPs. Despite increasing NP integration, confusion regarding the
NP role continues to exist within both patient and healthcare communities, indicating a need for
future research to address this ambiguity.
