The College creates practice standards to support nurses in providing safe and ethical care to the public. The documents apply to all nurses, and nurses are accountable for practising in accordance with these standards.

The College helps nurses understand how to apply the standards to their practice through a variety of resources, including learning modules and teleconferences.

All standards and guidelines can be downloaded free of charge.

Downloading the complete standards & guidelines

• Download all documents as ZIP file (7 MB)
• ZIP File Q & A
• Help with Adobe Acrobat and PDF files

Introduction

• You and Your College (rev. June 2009)
• Am I Practising Nursing? (rev. April 2011)
• Developing Practice Standards and Guidelines (rev. June 2009)

Practice Standards

• Confidentiality and Privacy - Personal Health Information
  (rev. June 2009)
• Decisions About Procedures and Authority, Revised 2006
  (rev. November 2011)
• Documentation, Revised 2008 (rev. June 2009)
• Ethics (rev. June 2009)
• Infection Prevention and Control (rev. June 2009)
• Medication, Revised 2008 (rev. November 2011)
• Nurse Practitioner (rev. October 2011)
• Professional Standards, Revised 2002 (rev. June 2009)
• Restraints (rev. June 2009)
• Therapeutic Nurse-Client Relationship, Revised 2006
  (rev. June 2009)

Practice Guidelines

• Authorizing Mechanisms (rev. November 2011)
• Complementary Therapies (rev. June 2009)
• Conflict Prevention and Management (rev. June 2009)
• Consent (rev. June 2009)
• Culturally Sensitive Care (rev. June 2009)
• Directives (rev. November 2011)
• Disagreeing With the Plan of Care (rev. June 2009)
• Guiding Decisions About End-of-Life Care, 2009 (rev. December 2009)
• Independent Practice (rev. November 2009)
• Influenza Vaccinations (rev. June 2009)
• Preparing for an Influenza Pandemic (rev. June 2009)
• Refusing Assignments and Discontinuing Nursing Services
  (rev. June 2009)
• Supporting Learners (rev. June 2009)
• Telepractice (rev. June 2009)
• RN and RPN Practice: The Client, the Nurse and the Environment (rev. December 2011)
• Working in Different Roles (rev. June 2009)
• Working With Unregulated Care Providers (rev. December 2011)

Legislation and Regulation

• An Introduction to the Nursing Act, 1991 (rev. November 2011)
• RHPA: Scope of Practice, Controlled Acts Model (rev. November 2011) 

Ordering standards & Guidelines

While the College no longer prints and sells the Compendium binder, nurses can still order specific College publications.

Email the College, or call the Customer Service Centre at 416 928-0900 or 1 800 387-5526 (toll-free in Ontario).

There may be a fee for some documents and for shipping.