Report highlights CNO achievements and initiatives
A new public report highlights and tracks CNO’s 2022 achievements and initiatives, including registering nurses in the health care system.
The College Performance Measurement Framework (CPMF) report is an annual requirement to the Ministry of Health for all of Ontario’s 26 health regulators. Its purpose is to strengthen the accountability and oversight of the colleges by providing publicly reported information that is transparent, consistent and aligned.
“This third iteration of the CPMF report highlights our commitment to protecting the public,” says Silvie Crawford, Executive Director and CEO. “Over the reporting year, CNO worked hard to meet public expectations and the demands of an evolving regulatory environment. CNO remains committed to ongoing quality improvement processes and values the engagement of our Ministry partners and the opportunity to demonstrate how we are leading in many indicators among Ontario health sector regulators.”
The report also highlighted various CNO initiatives and how they help protect the public by promoting safe nursing practice.
In 2022, our focus on modernizing applicant assessment and registration resulted in registering more nurses in the health care system than we ever had before. This was the result of new initiatives such as the Supervised Practice Experience Partnership, which we launched with Ontario Health and the Ministry. As the year went on, we expanded the program to include nurses returning to practice. To date, it has resulted in 1,726 registrations and is ongoing.
Last fall, the Ministry made changes to the registration regulation so applicants could register in the Temporary Class, and nurses in the Non-Practising Class and retired nurses could return to practice more easily. We worked quickly to support these changes, implementing new processes and communicating critical information to nurses and other partners all the way. We also concentrated on reducing barriers to registration for internationally educated applicants. We changed our language proficiency policy, collaborated with colleges and universities to help applicants meet the education requirement, and conducted a survey about barriers to completing the registration exam so we can address potential barriers.
Integrating diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI)
Since DEI was a focus for CNO in 2022, the report shows how we integrated these principles into our work. Last year, we implemented a four-year plan that supports our commitment to be diverse, inclusive, fair, equitable and accessible by addressing barriers and promoting dignity and respect for all. We connected with equity-deserving populations to update our Code of Conduct to reflect the evolving health care needs of clients and the dynamic nature of the nursing profession. This included enhancing nurses’ accountabilities and clarifying expectations about providing inclusive and culturally safe care.
Identifying opportunities to grow
Each year, CNO self-reports our performance on seven standardized measures ranging from governance, system partner and regulatory policies, to measuring, reporting and improvement. For each measure, we provide evidence and rate our performance as “meets,” “partially meets” or “does not meet.” If we partially meet or do not meet a measure, we explain how we are going to address it.
While CNO overwhelmingly met the Ministry’s measures, we identified a few areas where there is work to do. One of these is Governance, which we are addressing this year in a number of ways, including updating relevant by-laws. We are also creating a formal evaluation of the process we use to receive complaints, to ensure it is clear and useful for people who contact us with a concern about a nurse. This will help us meet the Suitability to Practice measure.
Click here for more information about CPMF, and to read our 2022 report.