April 06, 2026
April 2026

Dear CNO

A young nurse talking to an older patient with her hand on his arm.

While providing care to a long‑standing home care client, the client shared that they had been struggling both physically and emotionally. Wanting to express empathy, I told them that I understood exactly how they felt and shared significant personal details about my own recent illness and challenges. Was sharing this amount of information appropriate?

Thank you for your question. Wanting to show empathy and connect with a client is completely understandable, particularly when you’ve been working with someone over a long period of time. When it comes to self-disclosure, nurses need to be mindful about what personal information they share and why.  In some circumstances, limited self-disclosure can be appropriate and even helpful. Sharing a brief, relevant experience may help build rapport with the client and reduce anxiety.

However, as outlined in CNO’s Professional Boundaries and Nurse-Client Relationships practice standard, sharing too much personal information can signal a boundary crossing. If self-disclosure becomes too detailed, it can shift focus away from the client, create emotional dependence or affect the professional nature of the relationship. It’s important for nurses to keep conversations on the client’s needs and re‑establish appropriate boundaries when necessary.

Self-disclosure must be brief and clearly address the therapeutic needs of the client, rather than meeting the nurse’s personal needs. After sharing, it’s important to gently bring the conversation back to the client and their care.

Every situation is different, so context matters. When in doubt, it’s a good idea to pause, reflect and seek guidance. 

Reflecting on your practice as you’re doing here, is an important professional responsibility. If you’re concerned that you may have shared more than intended, consider speaking with your supervisor to discuss the situation confidentially and determine whether you need to follow up with the client. 

Here are some CNO resources that may be helpful:

Thanks for writing in!

Cathy Tersigni, RN, BScN, MN
Advanced Practice Consultant

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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