Each province in Canada is responsible for its health care including licensing and regulation for nursing. (RNAO, n.d. a) In Ontario, Registered Nurses are regulated and licensed under the College of Nurses of Ontario (CNO). The CNO sets standards for entry to practice, grants licenses to practice nursing in Ontario, enforces standards for best practice and ensures accountability through a provincially monitored reporting system.  Legislation from the Nursing Act and the Regulated Health Professions Act both established in 1991, governed by the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (CNO,2019) provide an outline for the scope of clinical practice to which Registered Nurses can work and the controlled acts that Registered Nurses can perform when providing care. (RNAO, n.d.a)

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I am a Registered Nurse, working in Ontario, licensed and regulated by the CNO. I am also a member of the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario (RNAO). The RNAO supports: teaching, education, and clinical excellence and advancement in the health care provided by nurses in Ontario. The RNAO provides a legal assistance plan (LAP) to its members, a requirement to practice put forth by the CNO. The LAP provides legal advice and guidance in the event of a practice related complaint put forward through the reporting processes maintained by the CNO. (RNAO, n.d.b)

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I am currently an Advanced Practice Nurse (APN) working in Trauma at Sunnybrook Health Science Centre in Toronto, Ontario. Registered Nurses at Sunnybrook are unionized- a part of the Ontario Nurses Association (ONA); whereas APNs are non-unionized allowing participation in the process of monitoring and enforcement of best practice in their designated area, under the guidelines of the CNO. In my role as an APN I am responsible for: the maintenance of best practice, up to date education and enhancing quality of practice through quality improvement initiatives on the trauma unit. I am also involved in moving processes and policies forward, within my program and at Sunnybrook, that promote and support best practice and leadership in the future of healthcare.

Further to locally supporting best practice and advancement in nursing at Sunnybrook, I also actively participate with our broader Trauma Network to disseminate our learning, network and participate in discussions and initiatives to advance benchmarks and practice standards in trauma care.   Although my role is directly associated with advanced practice in nursing, the link to interprofessional teams must be strong to ensure that advancements are sustainable. With healthcare reform, interprofessional practice has become even more crucial. Most new care-delivery initiatives being tested today involve team-based care. Using the skills of each discipline is important in reducing healthcare costs and improving patient outcomes through shared responsibility (American Nurses Today, 2014). In my role as an APN I am a link to our interprofessional team members.

 

This e-portfolio is an electronic record of my values, education, associations, and achievements in my clinical practice as a Registered Nurse in Ontario. I have developed this electronic portfolio as a communication and curation tool where I will post my work in process and curate resources related to practice.

 

 

College of Nurses Ontario (CNO). (2019). Legislation Governing Nursing. Retrieved from

     http://www.cno.org/en/what-is-cno/regulation-and-legislation/legislation-governing-nursing/

 

Registered Nurses Association of Ontario (RNAO). Careers in nursing: How are nurses governed?

     (n.d.a). Retrieved from http://careersinnursing.ca/new-nursing-and-students/becoming-

     registered-nurse/how-are-nurses-governed

 

Registered Nurses Association of Ontario (RNAO). Legal Assistance Program. (n.d.b). Retrieved from

     https://rnao.ca/join/benefits/lap

 

Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (MOHLT). (2019). Retrieved from

     http://www.health.gov.on.ca/en/

 

American Nurses Today. Creating high performance interprofessional teams. (2014). Retrieved from

     https://www.americannursetoday.com/creating-high-performance-interprofessional-teams/