The Nursing Profession in Canada

The nursing profession in Canada meets the criteria of a profession including using nursing ethics and nursing research.

All types of nursing are regulated by nursing laws which are in place to protect the public.

A person is not allowed to work in a nursing job or even use the title "nurse" unless he/she is registered with a provincial regulatory authority.

This is true for all types of nursing in Canada including the registered nurse, the registered psychiatric nurse, and the licensed practical nurse.

Self regulation is an important aspect of the nursing profession. In each of the provinces and territories of Canada, nurses themselves fulfil the mandate of protection of the public through a college or professional association as required under the specific nursing laws in that province.

Nursing research provides evidence upon which nurses can base their professional practice.

Nursing ethics provides guidelines for ethical and moral conduct in nursing practice.

Nursing competencies describe what nurses do and form the basis for the competency based Canadian Registered Nurse Exam.

These regulatory nursing organizations regulate the nursing profession by:

regulating nursing education standards for nursing programs

setting criteria for admission to the profession

setting the standards of professional nursing practice

acting on complaints from the public

disciplining members who fail to meet the established nursing standards of practice

providing support for nursing practice to registered members

Criteria of a profession

Self regulation is only one criteria of a profession.

Here is an examination of the other criteria of a profession as applied to nursing in Canada.

Criteria	The Nursing Profession in Canada
Regulation exists	Nursing laws in every province regulate nursing in the public interest not the interest of the members. In some provinces that law exists for the specific regulation of nursing such as a "Nurses Act" but in other provinces nurses are regulated under a "Health Professions Act" which regulates all health professions and describes the legislated scope of practice and specific restricted acts the members of the various regulated professions may perform. This legislation specifies conditions of entry, standards of competency that must be maintained, and how the governing body for the nursing profession must be structured.
Self regulation is in place	It is not the government or an outside body that regulates nurses, it is nurses who regulate nurses. While governments set the nursing laws for protection of the public, it is the nurses themselves who are given the authority to carry out this mandate through the professional nursing organizations in each province. In other words the nursing profession in Canada is self regulating.
Ethical or moral conduct is required of members and guidelines are given for this conduct	Nursing ethics that Canadian nurses must use in their practice are described in the Canadian Nurses Association Ethics Guide.
There is a benefit to the public	There can be no question that in a country with a publicly funded health care system that nursing exists for the benefit of the public that uses the system of universal health care in Canada. The vast majority of nurses in Canada work in the public sector but even nurses employed in the private sector must place the benefit of the public they serve above their own interests.
A specified body of knowledge is used	Nursing theory includes knowledge from the social sciences, physical sciences, pharmacology and even math. Nursing theories provide the specific knowledge base for the nursing profession.
The profession advances it own knowledge base	Nursing research provides evidence upon which to build nursing theory.
The members assume responsibility for the education and professional development of future members	The provincial nursing organizations have responsibility for monitoring and approving nursing education. All nursing education programs must prove that the nursing curriculum prepares graduates to practice professionally and meet the required standards of professional nursing practice and the entry level nursing competencies. Graduates of a nursing education program cannot sit the Canadian Registered Nurse Exam unless they have graduated from a program that has receive the approval or recognition of the regulating body.

In Canada the public interest isprotected by nursing laws in every province and territory. These laws provide the necessary regulation for all types of nursing.

What does "in the public interest" mean?

In Canada the health care system is publicly funded and the people who use the system have an expectation of safety. The Canadian public feels as though they are the owners of the health care system and that the system exists to serve them. They also expect that they will not be placed at risk when they use a system that is funded by their own tax dollars.

In recognition of the vulnerability of users of the health care system, the governments pass nursing laws and regulations to ensure the safety of the public.

When an regulatory authority exists in the public interest it means that it is responsible for implementing legislation and regulations the government has put in place to minimize the risk to the public.

What is Nursing? and how is nursing practice different from being a doctor?

Here is a list of the regulatory authorities for the nursing profession in Canada.

Read about the role of the clinical nurse specialist in Canada.

Read about the role of a nurse practitioner in Canada

Read about the public accountability framework in Universal Health Care in Canada.

Licensed Practical Nurse

Registered Psychiatric Nurse

Clinical Nurse Specialist

Nurse Practitioner

Community Health Nurse

Occupational Health Nurse

Collaborative Nursing Practice

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