September 12, 2023
September 2023

Highlights

This month’s nursing highlights include Code of Conduct educational resources, CNO at the Nurse Practitioners’ Association of Ontario (NPAO) Annual Conference, CNO leadership in Chicago, and more.

CNO Launches Three New Code-of-Conduct Learning Modules

CNO now features three new learning resources to support your understanding of Principle 2 from the Code of Conduct.

The Code of Conduct is an overarching practice standard describing the accountabilities of all nurses in Ontario.

This practice standard includes six principles, with an entirely new Principle 2, which focuses on diversity, equity and inclusion. This principle states that “Nurses provide inclusive and culturally safe care by practicing cultural humility.”

Now there are new resources supporting nurses better understanding of this principle and how it applies to your practice.

In collaboration with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC and the BC College of Nurses and Midwives (BCCNM), CNO has produced three video learning modules that explore aspects of the principle.

They are:

  • Inclusive and culturally safe care
  • Safer health care experiences
  • Training and education

These three short learning modules can be viewed on the CNO website, and range in length from just over two minutes to just under four minutes.

“We’re pleased to share these learning modules with members,” said Carol Timmings, CNO’s Chief Quality Officer and a Registered Nurse.

“These videos provide an excellent opportunity for members to learn more about this important principle, and to do so in an engaging and accessible way.”

CNO Shows Leadership at International Annual Meeting

CNO’s leadership, CEO and Executive Director Silvie Crawford and Chief Quality Officer Carol Timmings attended the attended annual general meeting of the National Council of State Board of Nursing (NCSBN) in the U.S., held in Chicago from August 16-18. There they shared and learned best practices with international colleagues. The annual general meeting brings together nursing regulators to discuss trends and opportunities.

“It’s always an excellent opportunity to share what we are doing at CNO and to learn from what our peers across North America are doing,” said Timmings, who also has a leadership role as a director-at-large on the NCSBN’s Board of Directors.

“Just like nurses show leadership by engaging in ongoing self-reflection, so too does CNO by continually learning, evaluating and improving how we protect the public by promoting safe nursing practice,” she added.

Part of CNO’s delegate role within the NCSBN assembly comes from the fact that it is an exam user member and voting member at the annual general meeting. In addition to connecting with fellow CEOs to discuss emerging regulatory needs and opportunities, Crawford said one particular honour was the vote for the College of Registered Nurses of Newfoundland and Labrador and the Nova Scotia College of Nursing to become exam user members of the NCSBN.

“It was a pleasure to welcome two more Canadian regulators as Exam user members that have a sole mandate in public protection.

“It was also a pleasure to be part of the 45th anniversary of the founding of NCSBN and to participate in the many special sessions that reflected on both the history of the organization as well as the bright future this organization has in its global influence in regulation. I look forward to continuing to collaborate to advance public safety,” Crawford expressed.

The NCSBN is a non-profit organization with 89 members worldwide. Based in the U.S., it includes nursing regulators from all 50 states as well as international members. 

Join CNO at the NPAO Conference and Celebrate 50 Years of NP Excellence

CNO is excited to meet nurses at the Nurse Practitioners’ Association of Ontario (NPAO) Annual Conference, which will take place in Toronto from September 20–22. The conference celebrates the 50th anniversary of NPAO and the excellence of NPs who provide quality patient care in Ontario.

It coincides with CNO’s 60th anniversary and the longstanding history of the organizations collaborating together to protect and support patient safety.

“We look forward to celebrating the achievements of NPAO at this year’s conference. It’s always a great opportunity to connect with peers and employers and share the latest nursing information,” said Chantal Rioux, an Advanced Practice Consultant at CNO. At the conference, she and Catriona Mill, CNO’s Manager of Practice Quality, will present on important regulatory and practice issues for NPs. “If you are attending the conference, be sure to stop by CNO’s booth at the expo where you can get your questions answered directly by CNO staff and contribute valuable input on the future of nursing regulation in Ontario,” added Rioux.

You can learn more about the conference at the NPAO website. It will take place at the Sheraton Toronto Airport Hotel and Conference Centre at 801 Dixon Rd. The conference will feature presentations, exhibits and networking opportunities centred on clinical and professional content.

Save the Date for the Next Council Meeting

The quarterly Council meeting is right around the corner.

Council will meet from Wednesday, Sept. 27 to Thursday, Sept. 28, to discuss items about how to protect the public by promoting safe nursing practice.

Council, which is CNO’s board of directors, will begin its meeting on the afternoon of Wednesday, Sept. 27 at 1 p.m., and you can follow along. CNO provides live stream feeds through YouTube, Facebook and X (formerly Twitter), where you can see the latest deliberations.

You can also see what’s on the agenda – or review past agendas and documents – on the dedicated Council webpage on our website.

For more Council information you can also follow CNO’s social media feeds on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and X (formerly Twitter).

CEO Silvie Crawford Presents to Federal Committee on CNO’s Positive Impact

CNO CEO and Executive Director Silvie Crawford presented to the federal Committee on Health Workforce on August 22.

The committee, which has a mandate to discuss strategy, share information and act on priority health issues at the federal and provincial levels, heard about CNO’s initiatives and its commitment to health care system leadership. “The ultimate measure of CNO’s long-term success will be our ability to positively impact public safety through meaningful collaboration with partners in the patient care system,” said Crawford in remarks to the committee.

To showcase CNO’s collaborative and impactful work in the past year, Crawford shared some initiatives, such as:

  • a new policy approach to registering applicants through the federal mobility legislation
  • a coordinated approach across regulation, education and practice;
  • and, optimization of scopes of practice.

Crawford emphasized that these initiatives are done while ensuring that the core regulatory functions of CNO are upheld to ensure that nurses have the knowledge, skill and judgment to provide safe care in Ontario. CNO’s practice standards and guidelines apply to all nurses in Ontario, regardless of role, job description or area of practice.

Crawford also highlighted how CNO places patient safety and the needs of the health care system front and center, provides practice standards that are accessible to nurses, health care partners and the public, and provides a single point of contact for patient safety concerns.

“These are just a few examples of the approaches CNO has taken to support human health resources within our province. As a member of a national collaborative, we continually explore ways in which we can develop more consistent approaches to our jurisdictional regulatory functions with the ability to influence the health care system in Ontario and Canada,” she told the committee. 

Crawford also shared some highlights for CNO's approach and how it is set up to succeed:

  • CNO as the sole nursing regulator has complete information on all nurses in the province which includes information on practice setting and employment information which enables us to provide a holist picture of nursing human health resources
  • This has positioned us to be a leader in the NURSYS Canada initiative, a national nursing database that will promote registration transparency for regulators as well as federal labour mobility
  • CNO is also embarking upon better understanding the diversity of nurses in Ontario through a diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) focus;

Crawford added that CNO is proud to ensure there are standardized regulatory processes and Practice Standards for all nursing categories to support public safety.

About CNO

The College of Nurses of Ontario (CNO) is the regulator of the nursing profession in Ontario. It is not a school or a nursing association. CNO acts in the public interest by:

  • assessing qualifications and registering individuals who want to practice nursing in Ontario.
  • setting the practice standards of the profession that nurses in Ontario are expected to meet.
  • promoting nurses' continuing competence through a quality assurance program.
  • holding nurses accountable to those standards by addressing complaints or reports about nursing care.

The College was founded in 1963. By establishing the College, the Ontario government was acknowledging that the nursing profession had the ability to govern itself and put the public's well-being ahead of professional interests.

For the latest information, please see our Nursing Statistics page.

Anyone who wants to use a nursing-related title — Registered Nurse (RN), Registered Practical Nurse (RPN) or Nurse Practitioner (NP) must become a member of CNO.

Frequently Asked Questions

Go to the public Register, Find a Nurse, to conduct a search for the nurse. Contact us if you can't find the person you are looking for.

All public information available about nurses is posted in the public Register, Find a Nurse, which contains profiles of every nurse in Ontario. Publicly available information about nurses include their registration history, business address, and information related to pending disciplinary hearings or past findings.

Unregistered practitioners are people who are seeking employment in nursing or holding themselves out as being able to practice nursing in Ontario, but who are not qualified to do so. They are not registered members of CNO. Only people registered with CNO can use nursing-related titles or perform certain procedures that could cause harm if carried out by a non-registered health professional. CNO takes the issue of unregistered practitioners seriously. See Unregistered Practitioners for more information.

To ensure procedural fairness for both the patient (or client) and the nurse, the Regulated Health Professions Act requires that information gathered during an investigation remain confidential until the matter is referred to the Discipline Committee or Fitness to Practise Committee. CNO will not disclose any information that could identify patients (or clients) or compromise an investigation. See Investigations: A Process Guide for more information.

Information obtained during an investigation will become public if the matter is referred to a disciplinary hearing. If a complaint is not referred to a hearing, no information will be available publicly.

See CNO's hearings schedule, which is updated as hearing dates are confirmed. Hearings at CNO are open to the public and the media. For details on how to attend a hearing, contact the Hearings Administration Team.

A summary of allegations and the disciplinary panel outcomes can be found on the public Register, Find a Nurse. Full decisions and reasons are also available.

Where a disciplinary panel makes a finding of professional misconduct, they have the authority to reprimand a nurse, and suspend or revoke a nurse's registration. Terms, conditions and limitations can also be imposed on a nurse's registration, which restricts their practice for a set period. Nurses can also be required to complete remedial activities, such as reviewing CNO documents and meeting with an expert, before returning to practice.

For detailed information see the Sexual Abuse Prevention section.

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