October 08, 2024

News and Notes

An NP scope consultation, CNO at the NPAO conference, and QA Assessment.

Illustration of a CNO newspaper.

Ministry of Health consultation considers expanded scope of practice for NPs

The Ministry of Health is inviting nurses and the public to have their say on a proposal to expand nursing scope of practice. 

The Ministry’s proposal includes permitting NPs to: 

  • order and, in most cases, also apply electricity for defibrillation, cardiac pacemaker therapy, transcutaneous pacing and electrocoagulation 
  • authorize mandatory blood testing for infectious diseases 
  • certify death in any circumstance (currently, the authority is limited to specified circumstances). 

The proposal also includes permitting Registered Nurses (RNs) to certify when death is expected and specified circumstances exist. 

If implemented, the proposed scope expansion could increase access to quality and timely care for patients. The consultation is led by the Ministry of Health. If the government approves changes in the future, CNO’s role is to communicate the changes to promote safe nursing practice.  

These changes are not yet in effect. CNO will communicate any scope changes when they are implemented.  

CNO presents at NPAO 

CNO Registrar/Executive Director and CEO Silvie Crawford, RN, spoke at the annual Nurse Practitioners’ Association of Ontario (NPAO) conference on Friday, Sept. 27. 

Crawford spoke about the current landscape of NPs in the province and how CNO uses data related to the nursing profession to support change and adapt to the evolving needs of our profession. 

“Working with our system partners, such as NPAO and the Ministry of Health, we want to make sure our regulatory frameworks are well-aligned with the ongoing changes in the scope of NP practice. Our goal is to enhance the quality and effectiveness of care provided across the health care system,” said Crawford, speaking to a packed convention hall who attended the conference. 

Additionally, Advanced Practice Consultant Chantal Rioux, NP, presented about proposed NP scope changes while Strategy Consultant Loren Mathias presented about the National Nurse Practioner Regulation Framework. 

Check your inbox for QA Assessment 

CNO notified nurses selected for QA Assessment in late-September via email. CNO notifies nurses selected for QA Assessment, which is an accountability, solely via email, so it is important to make sure your email address is up-to-date in the Maintain Your Membership portal. 

QA Assessment is an opportunity for nurses to reflect on their practice, and you can learn more about it on our website. 

While only some nurses are selected for QA Assessment each year, all nurses are accountable to do QA Every Day. You can learn more about QA Every Day, and explore supportive resources, on our website.


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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