The College of Nurses of Ontario is formally adopting several amendments to its regulations that allow nurses registered in other parts of Canada to more efficiently join the College and practise within Ontario without unnecessary delays.

As required by legislation affecting all health regulatory bodies, the College is amending its registration regulation to allow nurses who are already registered in other Canadian provinces or territories the ability to register in Ontario without having to meet additional education requirements.

All that is required is that an applicant:

• provide a certificate or other evidence confirming she/he is in good standing in every other Canadian jurisdiction in which the applicant holds a certificate
• provide evidence of nursing practice within the five years prior to their application to the College
• meet other conditions required of all applicants to the College (e.g., criminal record check).

The amendments also formally retire the College’s Transitional Class, which was introduced in 2005 to assist those nurses practising elsewhere in Canada who wanted to register in Ontario but did not meet the then-new requirements for RNs and RPNs in Ontario.

“The Transitional Class was created as an option for nurses registered in another Canadian jurisdiction who wanted to come to Ontario, but did not meet the educational program requirement,” said Janet Anderson, Director, Practice and Regulatory Policy. “Now that it is no longer needed, the Transitional Class will be phased out and the remaining nurses in that class will be granted automatic membership in the General Class.”

These amendments to the College’s registration regulation precede more sweeping changes scheduled to take effect Jan. 1, 2013. To learn more about those changes and how they will affect College members and applicants, visit www.cno.org/RR.