The College of Nurses of Ontario’s (CNO’s) jurisprudence examinations assess an applicant’s knowledge and understanding of the laws, regulations, by-laws and practice standards and guidelines that govern the nursing profession in Ontario.

Who has to take a jurisprudence examination?

If you are applying to register in the General, Temporary, or Special Assignment class, you must successfully pass the Registered Nurse (RN)/Registered Practical Nurse (RPN) Jurisprudence Examination.

If you are applying to register as a Nurse Practitioner (NP), you must pass the Registered Nurse (Extended Class) [RN(EC)] Jurisprudence Examination.

You will take the examination online through a secure learning management website that only applicants to CNO can access. Examination pass results are valid for five years. 

Notes:

The jurisprudence examination is the same for RN and RPN applicants. Therefore, if a current RPN registrant wants to become a RN registrant, or vice versa, they will not have to write the examination unless they:

  1. have never written it previously or 
  2. previously wrote it more than five years ago

NP applicants who have previously registered as an RN or RPN must take another jurisprudence exam to meet the NP requirements. To register in the Extended Class, you need to pass the RN(EC) Jurisprudence Examination.

What subjects does the exam cover?

The jurisprudence examination consists of an e-learning module with a multiple-choice examination.

The examination assesses your knowledge and understanding of the nursing profession in Ontario. The jurisprudence e-learning module contains five chapters.

  • Chapter 1 - Nursing regulation
    • Role of the regulator
    • Concept of public protection
    • Key legislation governing nursing practice in Ontario 
  • Chapter 2 - Scope of practice
    • Legal scope of practice for nursing in Ontario as set out in legislation
    • Nursing roles and responsibilities
  • Chapter 3 - Professional accountability and responsibility
    • Components of the therapeutic nurse-client relationship
    • Professional boundaries
    • Mandatory reporting
    • Professional misconduct
  • Chapter 4 - CNO Practice Standards
    • Practice standards and ethical considerations that outline expectations of nurses to protect the public
  • Chapter 5 - Quality assurance (QA) and continuing competence
    • Purpose and components of CNO’s QA Program
    • Self-assessment, practice assessment and peer assessment
    • Continuing competence

The RN(EC) Jurisprudence Examination also assesses laws, regulations and standards of practice unique to NP practice in Ontario. CNO has developed a guide on the CNO learning management platform to help applicants navigate the jurisprudence exam.

What are the jurisprudence examinations like?

The jurisprudence examinations are “open-book” exams, which means that you can use online or offline resources — such as laws, regulations or CNO’s practice standards — while you write the examination. However, since there is a wide range of material covered, we suggest that you do a thorough review of the recommended study material before taking the examination.

Note: You are not permitted to screen capture, photograph or record any question of the jurisprudence exam.

Both of the jurisprudence examinations consist of multiple-choice questions designed to assess your competencies at three different levels of cognitive ability:

  • Knowledge and comprehension: the ability to recall and understand relevant content
  • Application: the ability to apply knowledge and comprehension in a straightforward situation
  • Critical thinking: the ability to apply knowledge and comprehension in complex situations through analytical problem solving

You must write the examination on your own. You must not write it together with other applicants.

See some samples of the types of questions you can expect to see on the jurisprudence examination.

How do I take the examination?

  1. Once you have submitted your CNO application online and paid the application fee, you will receive a message in your Maintain Your Membership (MYM) applicant portal informing you to pay the jurisprudence examination fee to access the exam.
  2. Once your payment is received, you will get a follow-up message and link in the MYM portal that gives you access to the online examination through a secure website.
  3. You have 30 days from the date your exam payment is processed to take your jurisprudence examination. Eachjurisprudence examination consists of 50 multiple-choice questions.

Review Jurisprudence Examination FAQs for answers to questions on exam eligibility, preparation and navigating through the exam.

How much does the examination cost?

There is a fee of $40 plus applicable taxes to write the jurisprudence examination. You can pay the fee through your MYM applicant portal account. We must receive this payment before you can attempt the jurisprudence examination.

After you pay the fee, you have 30 days to access and write the exam. During this period, you can rewrite the examination as many times as you need to pass, at no extra cost. You must wait one hour before attempting the examination again. You can complete the exam at your own pace. You may complete it in one sitting or save your place in the exam and resume later where you left off. After your 30-day period has expired, you will need to pay the fee again if you need more attempts to pass the exam.