May 09, 2023
May 2023

New QA Assessment platform launches this summer

Quality Assurance (QA) is an accountability that assures the public of nurses’ commitment to continuing competence by improving their nursing practice on an ongoing basis. Part of this program is QA Assessment, where the College of Nurses of Ontario (CNO) randomly selects nurses for further reflection or activities.

CNO has been working on integrating feedback from nurses into QA Assessment  

Quality Assurance (QA) is an accountability that assures the public of nurses’ commitment to continuing competence by improving their nursing practice on an ongoing basis. Part of this program is QA Assessment, where the College of Nurses of Ontario (CNO) randomly selects nurses for further reflection or activities.

Over the years, CNO has reached out for feedback from nurses and other health care partners about QA Assessment. Based on this, we have been hard at work to integrate feedback into the upcoming assessment cycle, with further updates to come.

A growth opportunity we heard from nurses is that you want to feel more supported when it comes to technology, and for QA Assessment and preparation materials to be more accessible. This is why we are introducing a new Learning Management System (LMS) which will launch during the upcoming QA Assessment period in Summer 2023.

This online platform will provide more flexibility to those selected to complete that portion of the assessment and include new QA assessment activities, such as a series of on-demand videos that explore the roles and responsibilities of nursing in Ontario and the legislation that governs the practice and profession. More information about the QA Assessment platform will be shared closer to launch and while the platform will change, coaching and support is available to nurses selected for the QA Assessment, as needed.

To determine if you have been selected for QA Assessment, check your email. If you have any questions about the QA Assessment process, please contact the QA Program team by email at QAassessment@cnomail.org, or by phone at 416-963-3922 or 1-800-387-5526 (ext. 3922). 

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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