Dear CNO

Dear CNO,

I'm about to renew my CNO membership, but recently started a new job after taking some time off to care for my young children over the last two years. How do I know if my new position is considered nursing practice?

Thanks for this question!

We’re right in the middle of Annual Membership Renewal (AMR) and so membership is on the minds of lots of nurses now. For anyone who is looking to renew, you can do so here.

CNO doesn’t provide a list of activities that are considered nursing practice. Instead, we take an inclusive approach, recognizing that nursing practice is diverse and is not defined by your job title, practice setting or an activity you may be performing. We also cannot determine whether nursing knowledge, skill or judgement is needed for the position, because we are not at the point of care to appreciate each nurse’s practice.

Practicing nursing is not the same as being employed as a nurse. For example, you may not be providing direct client care if you’re in an education, administration, policy or leadership role, but you can still be practicing nursing if your role has an indirect impact on client care and influencing the health care system. If you are still unclear whether you are practicing nursing in your new role, here are some questions to consider:

• Are you registered as a nurse in the jurisdiction in which you are practicing as a nurse? 

• Are you using your nursing knowledge, skill and judgement in your role?

• Do you have a direct or indirect effect on health care systems? 

• Based on your role, title and how you present yourself, would the public expect you to use your nursing knowledge or skill in your interactions with them?

For additional reflective questions, you can review them here.

As for not practicing within the past two years – we have guidelines around this to help you out.

CNO’s registration regulation requires nurses to make a declaration about their practice within the previous three years. If you last practiced nursing on Dec. 1, 2021, you would have until Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024 to acquire the necessary nursing practice to maintain your registration. However, if you’re a Nurse Practitioner (NP), you will need to declare whether you have practiced in a clinical NP role within the previous three years, with direct interaction to the client population appropriate for the specialty certificate that you hold.

CNO doesn’t specify a number of hours nurses need to practice in that timeframe. Instead, it is up to each nurse to determine how much practice is necessary to maintain their competence, which may vary based on an individual’s knowledge, skill and judgment. Nurses are accountable to self-reflect and ensure they are competent before performing any nursing activity. Since you mentioned that you have been out of practice for a few years, it may be a good opportunity to look at your learning plan and update it according to your current goals and learning activities. This will help you fulfil your annual quality assurance requirements as a nurse. You also may wish to discuss this with your employer as you return to practice.

Just a friendly reminder, the deadline to renew this year’s Annual Membership Renewal is Sunday, Dec. 31, 2023!

Thanks for writing,

Jennifer Cheng, RN, MN, Advanced Practice Consultant

Further reading: 

FAQS: Declaration of Practice 
Annual Membership Renewal 

Have a question for our Practice Quality team? You can reach out to them at Practice Support Form. 

Do you have a question you would like featured in Dear CNO? Email us at editor@cnomail.org.