August 29, 2019
December 2019

Take action in 2020 with new Quality Assurance tools

After two years of work, we’re ready to begin rolling out our new Quality Assurance (QA) Program starting with the launch of a new Practice Reflection Worksheet and Action Plan (previously known as the Learning Plan) in 2020.

Both tools will be available on myQA and the QA Resources section of our website. Look for information on the launch date in The Standard, and on our Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram pages.

After two years of work, we’re ready to begin rolling out our new Quality Assurance (QA) Program starting with the launch of a new Practice Reflection Worksheet and Action Plan (previously known as the Learning Plan) in 2020.

Both tools will be available on myQA and the QA Resources section of our website. Look for information on the launch date in The Standard, and on our Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram pages.

The Practice Reflection Worksheet and the Action Plan are tools that can help you with your Self-Assessment. But you don’t have to wait for the new tools to become available — December is the perfect time to reflect on the year you had and start thinking about goals for a new year.

Begin by analyzing a situation or change in your practice. For example, a situation that seemed significant to you; critical incidents; or changes in evidence, policy or legislation. Ask yourself questions to explore your actions, feelings and knowledge. Taking the time to explore a situation or change will help you to identify your strengths and areas for improvement.

Your ability to continually learn and grow in your nursing practice is crucial to maintaining safe patient care. That’s why we’re designing every element of our new QA Program to support your ability to reflect and learn.

We will continue to phase in components of the new QA Program gradually over the next few years as they are developed. Visit our Quality Care webpage to learn more about this program and what we’re doing to support nurses with their continued learning.

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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