Role Clarification Processes for Better Integration of Nurse Practitioners into Primary Healthcare Teams: A Multiple-Case Study

Table 1

Description of the cases.

Theme	Cases
	Case  1	Case  2	Case  3	Case  4	Case  5	Case  6
Location	Urban	Rural	Rural	Rural	Urban	Urban
Patient management model: joint, consultative, mixed^*	Mostly consultative	Mixed	Consultative	Mixed or consultative	Consultative	Exclusively consultative
Type of clientele (socioeconomically, geographically).; Large territory refers to a geographical area covering more than 3 cities and hundreds of miles	Varied clientele, socioeconomically poor; Small, dense territory	Clientele with chronic illnesses; Large territory	Economically disadvantaged clientele; High birth rate; Large territory	Clientele with chronic illnesses; Pediatric clientele; Large territory	Clientele with chronic illnesses, socioeconomically poor, immigrants; Small, dense territory	Home care clientele (with the exception of palliative care); Small, dense territory
Type and number of professionals working closely with the PHCNP	2 PHCNPs, 8 MDs, 2 RNs, 1 nursing assistant, 1 social worker, 1 psychologist, 1 nutritionist, 1 kinesiologist	1 PHCNPs, 5 MDs, 2 RNs, 1 nursing assistant, 1 nutritionist	2 PHCNPs, 2 MDs, 4 RNs, 2 nursing assistants, 3 social workers, 1 occupational therapist	2 PHCNPs, 2 MDs, 1 RN, 1 nursing assistant	1 PHCNP, 1 MD, 1 RN, 1 nursing assistant, 1 pharmacist	1 PHCNP, 3 MDs, 2 RNs, 2 social workers, 2 occupational therapists, 2 physiotherapy technicians
Patients seen by the PHCNP on a daily basis in the walk-in clinic	Around 8–10 patients/day	5-6 patients/day	9 patients/day	Around 9 patients/day	Around 9 patients/day	Not applicable; PHCNP’s home care caseload: 80–100 patients

In the joint management model, a group of patients is managed jointly by the PHCNP and the physician partner. In the consultative management model, the PHCNP and the physician each manage a different group of patients and the PHCNP consults the physician as needed for patients in the group the PHCNP is following. The mixed model includes both joint and consultative patient management.