Alumna Opens Private NP Clinic
College of Nursing alumna Joelynne Radbourne opens private Nurse Practitioner clinic in Emerald Park.
University of Saskatchewan (USask) College of Nursing alumna Joelynne Radbourne (BSN’13, NP’19) was feeling restricted in her nurse practitioner (NP) practice when she decided to look into starting her own, private NP practice.
"When you work as a nurse practitioner in a publicly funded position, we are generally told how long our appointments can be, how many patients we can take, and how and when to provide follow up care,” said Radbourne.
“I ended up with an eight-week waiting list for my patients to see me, which I felt was having a negative impact on the quality of care I could provide.”
Nurse practitioner private practice is a very new model of care in Saskatchewan, so Radbourne had her research cut out for her.
There was no “how-to” guide on how to start a private practice and no financial support to renovate a facility to meet her needs.
That didn’t stop Radbourne. Using her experience in critical care, patient education, and leadership, combined with her passion for direct patient care, she opened her private practice, Vaida Health, in November 2023 in Emerald Park, Saskatchewan.
“Patients need access when they are ill and can not wait eight weeks to be treated for common ailments, such as ear infections or respiratory concerns,” said Radbourne.
“Within three months of being open, my practice was full. Since then, I have welcomed another NP to the team to meet the growing demands for primary care in rural Saskatchewan.”
When asked to describe a typical day in private NP practice, Radbourne replied, “I see between 10-14 scheduled patients per day, plus a couple of walk-ins or urgent care requests. Our appointments are a minimum 30 minutes, but up to an hour depending on the complexity of the need and if providing specialized services, such as contraceptives, pelvic floor assessment, or ADHD care.”
Radbourne is a Metis NP specializing in women’s health. She has received many certifications from the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada in women’s health and is one of only a handful of NPs in Saskatchewan certified and ministry approved to provide treatment for HIV and Hepatitis C.
“My passion project has been my involvement with the Cervical Screening Task Force at the Saskatchewan Cancer Agency, which launched new guidelines in November 2023. I am the NP representative on the team and helped with the development and dissemination of instructional material on the new guidelines for practitioners.”
Prior to becoming a registered nurse (RN), then a nurse practitioner, Radbourne worked as a care aid in long-term care. This helped her understand the nursing profession and many of the RN’s and NP’s she worked with mentored her during her studies. She knows the importance of a team and plans on expanding Vaida Health to establish an interdisciplinary team, including a dietician, counselling, and nursing services, and adding two additional NP’s to the clinic.
“I feel an interdisciplinary team can improve patient outcomes, enable faster treatments, boosts morale, and provides a patient-focused approach to primary care,” adds Radbourne.
While opening the clinic has been well received in her community, the cost of private NP care can be prohibitive.
“Unfortunately, new blended funding models for public and private NP practice have not yet been established in Saskatchewan; however, they are being discussed by Government. We hope by the end of the 2024/2025 fiscal year, Vaida Health will be publicly funded by the Ministry of Health, which would give increased access to care for patients who do not have third party insurance.”
Radbourne sees the future of nurse practitioners to be positive and encourages anyone considering the profession to do it.
“NP practice has provided me work life balance, autonomy, knowledge and a scope of practice that provides fulfillment at the end of my day. The opportunities for NPs in our province are expanding every year. We are being invited to provincial and national tables where our knowledge, clinical expertise, and education is valuable. We are now an active voice in guiding healthcare in our country.”
“Since completion of my NP program, I have had the privilege to be mentored and work with many strong NP leaders in our province who encouraged me to get involved and advocate for advanced practice nursing. I have brought my voice to the University of Saskatchewan – Bachelor of Science in Nursing Curriculum Advisory Subcommittee, completed a research project with the Canadian Centre for Advanced Practice Nursing Research, and was appointed to the College of Registered Nurses of Saskatchewan provincial council in 2021. I strongly believe that education and opportunities for professional development are of great importance.”