Nurse Practitioner fills in for GP at Te Karaka

In a first for Turanga Health, its Te Karaka medical centre has nurse practitioner Jackie Clapperton filling in for Dr Mark Devcich while he is away on leave.

Jackie is widely known on the East Coast as a dedicated, brave and extremely professional St John ambulance intensive care paramedic.

But she is also a nurse practitioner – a nurse who has completed years of advanced education so she can provide a wide range of assessment and treatment, and prescribe medication. Jackie is the only St John intensive care paramedic/nurse practitioner in the country and now she is breaking new ground at the tiny medical centre in Te Karaka owned by Turanga Health.

Jackie, who wears her distinctive dark green St John uniform while at work in Te Karaka, will be working in the clinic for the rest of the month.

A more in-depth article on Jackie, her background, and comment from those who have supported her during her training, is coming soon.

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