October 11, 2023

Highlights

This month's nursing highlights includes consultation on proposed education registration requirements for nurses, saving the date for the Ontario Long-Term Care Association conference and announcing CNO's new Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

Reminder: Share your feedback on the proposed changes to the education registration requirements for nurses

CNO invites you to share your feedback on the proposed changes to the education registration requirements for nurses. These changes aim to ensure nurses entering the profession have the relevant education and skills to provide safe and competent patient care.

The proposed changes include:

  • Inclusive and culturally safe care
  • Safer health care experiences

These changes are part of CNO’s strategic plan to ensure registration processes are evidence-informed, fair, inclusive and effective. They also help increase the health human resources in Ontario.

You can read more about the proposed changes and provide your feedback on CNO’s public consultation page. The deadline to comment is Monday, Nov. 27, 2023.

Don’t miss this opportunity to contribute to the regulation of nursing practice in Ontario.

Meet CNO at the Ontario Long-Term Care Association (OLTCA) conference

Join CNO at the annual Ontario Long-Term Care Association (OLTCA) conference in Toronto from Sunday, Oct. 22 to Tuesday, Oct. 24.

The conference will feature presentations and workshops on emerging research, quality improvement initiatives, innovations and expertise that can help you improve the quality of care and quality of life for seniors.

CNO will have a booth at the conference where you can meet our staff and ask any questions you may have about nursing practice standards and accountabilities in long-term care.

“We are eager to connect with our health care partners and nurses to share our updated practice resources,” said Amanda Laird, a Registered Nurse and CNO’s Team Lead for Practice Quality. “Long-term care is a critical part of our health care system, and we want to support you in delivering safe care to residents.” 

CNO welcomes new Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

CNO recently appointed Sandra Porteous as its new Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI).

In her new role, Porteous will lead the development of an organization-wide DEI initiative that aligns with CNO’s vision and mission to protect the public by promoting safe nursing practice.

CNO’s Executive Director and CEO Silvie Crawford expressed her enthusiasm about Sandra’s appointment, saying: “Sandra is a visionary leader who has a wealth of experience and expertise in DEI. She is a dynamic and collaborative partner who will work with various stakeholders to advance DEI in the regulatory space for nurses. The creation of this new position demonstrates CNO’s ongoing commitment to incorporate DEI practices in all areas of our work.”

Porteous said she is excited to join CNO and to contribute to its DEI journey. “Nurses play a vital role caring for people and fostering healthy communities and I look forward to contributing to nursing regulation in Ontario. This is an evolving time for nursing and CNO is uniquely positioned to actively contribute to DEI in health care.”

Porteous is a seasoned DEI professional with a background in journalism, education and consulting. She has worked for CBC, Metrolinx and various educational institutions, where she designed and implemented DEI programs and strategies that benefited diverse populations.

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.

Related links