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Page modified March 27, 2007

Connecting with Council
March 2007

This document highlights key decisions made at the March 8 Council meeting. Read the motions that Council passed.

On this page:

Strategic Plan updated

The College’s strategic objectives set a long-range direction for the College as it moves into the future. Achieving these objectives will enhance the College’s regulatory effectiveness and help it achieve its vision of excellence in nursing practice everywhere in Ontario.

In 2006, there were three key initiatives related to the strategic objectives that have strengthened the College’s organizational capacity to excel as a regulator:

  • the development of a customer-based information system that includes web-based processes such as address changes and annual renewal;
  • an organization-wide focus on enhancing outreach, including the development of the web-based Learning Centre and the implementation of teleconferences, to support the practice standards; and
  • ongoing contributions to the government’s review of health regulatory legislation to ensure that the legislation enhances the College’s effectiveness as a regulator.

Council received a report on the Strategic Plan’s second year of implementation, which focused on the above three initiatives.

 

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Bill 171: The Health System Improvements Act

In December 2006, Minister Smitherman introduced Bill 171, omnibus legislation that amends more than 40 different acts related to the health care system and introduces new legislation.

Bill 171 includes proposed changes to the Regulated Health Professions Act which resulted from the government’s review of the recommendations in the Health Professions Regulatory Advisory Council’s (HPRAC’s) report Regulation of Health Professions in Ontario: New Directions.

The bill received first reading in December 2006 and is expected to undergo further consultation following second reading this spring. Council reviewed the proposed amendments and provided direction for the College’s response, which will support increased accountability, transparency and regulatory effectiveness.

 

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Liability coverage

Council has been exploring the philosophical question of whether mandatory liability coverage is a regulatory requirement or a professional accountability. Council was informed of interprofessional consultations that may result in new information on this issue. Council deferred making a decision until the results of the consultations become available. In the interim, the College will provide information to members on the importance of liability coverage.

 

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Practical Nurse program approval

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

Following a review by the Practical Nurse Program Approval Committee, Council approved the Practical Nurse program at Georgian College for a five-year term, until March 2012.

 

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Statutory committees

As part of their accountability to Council for effectively carrying out their statutory mandates, the statutory committees presented annual reports of their activities. For information on the role of statutory committees, refer to the special supplement in the September 2006 issue of The Standard and the Council and Committee section on this website.

 

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