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Connecting with Council

March 2006

Highlights of key decisions made at the March 8, 2006, Council meeting

Revised relationship practice standard approved

It is in the public interest that College practice standards reflect current knowledge and best practices. Council approved the Therapeutic Nurse-Client Relationship, Revised 2006, practice standard. Key revisions include:

  • the addition of empathy as a component of the nurse-client relationship;
  • clarification on receiving gifts from clients and acting as power of attorney for clients; and
  • an improved decision tool to help nurses apply the standard to specific situations.

The standard is being sent to members with this issue of The Standard, and an education session is being prepared for the Learning Centre on the College’s website.

Proposed changes to the Transitional Class registration regulation

The Agreement on Internal Trade requires regulators of professionals to make accommodations to facilitate the recognition of applicants from other Canadian provinces and territories. When Ontario implemented its new educational requirements in 2005, the registration regulation included a provision to accommodate new registrants from other regions in Canada who did not have the required education. They could be registered in the Transitional Class. RNs then had four years and RPNs had two years to meet Ontario’s registration requirements. In the current regulation, the Transitional Class sunsets (ceases to exist) on December 31, 2010.

In September 2005, at the request of George Smitherman, Ontario’s Minister of Health and Long-Term Care, Council agreed to consult on the removal of the sunset provisions. All respondents to the consultation supported removing these provisions.

Council has asked the Ministry to amend the College’s registration regulation by removing the Transitional Class sunset provisions. If amended by government, applicants for registration in Ontario who were initially registered in other Canadian provinces from 2005 onward and who do not meet Ontario’s educational requirements can be registered in the Transitional Class and work toward meeting the Ontario requirements.

Practical Nurse program approved

It is in the public interest that nurses graduate from a program that equips them to meet the needs of today’s complex health care system. For this reason, the College’s registration regulation requires Practical Nurse applicants to graduate from a college of applied arts and technology diploma program that has been approved by Council.

After a rigorous review by the Practical Nurse Program Approval Committee, and based on the recommendation of the Committee, Council approved the Practical Nurse program at Conestoga College for a five-year term, until March 2011.

Statutory committees

The statutory committees reported on their activities for 2005 as part of their accountability to Council for carrying out their statutory mandates. (More information on the role of statutory committees will be published in the Council and Committee Supplement in the September issue of The Standard.)

Report on the Strategic Plan

Council received a report on the Strategic Plan’s first year of implementation. Successful deployment of the strategies in the plan directly furthers the College’s public interest mandate. In 2005, two initiatives laid a strong foundation for the College to move forward with its Strategic Plan.

  1. Implementation of the College’s new information system will improve service to members and enhance the College’s ability to provide knowledge, both internally and externally.
  2. The Regulated Health Professions Act is the foundation on which the College regulates nursing. Proactive and constructive participation in the current review of the legislation provides the College with an opportunity to have an impact on legislative change and to maximize its ability to regulate nursing effectively and efficiently.

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