Applicant
An individual who has made a formal request to the College for a certificate of registration and has submitted the necessary forms and fees to begin the application process.
Category
In Ontario, nursing is one profession with two categories of care providers – Registered Nurses (RNs) and Registered Practical Nurses (RPNs).
Certificate of Authorization
A document that is issued when a health professional corporation is registered with the College.
Certificate of Registration
A document that is issued when an individual has fulfilled the College’s entry-to-practice requirements and becomes a Registered Nurse or Registered Practical Nurse.
Classes of Registration
There are five classes of registration available to RNs and RPNs – General, Temporary, Special Assignment, Retired, Transitional – in addition to the Extended Class (for RNs only).
Client
The person or persons with whom the nurse is engaged in a professional therapeutic relationship. In most cases, the client is an individual, but the client may also be a family, a group (as in psychotherapy) or a community (as in the public health field). In research, the client is a subject or participant; in an educational setting, the client may include students. In Ontario, “client” is preferred over the narrower term “patient.”
Controlled Acts
Actions outlined in the Regulated Health Professions Act (RHPA) that are considered to be potentially harmful if performed by unqualified persons. In Ontario, RNs and RPNs in the General Class are authorized to perform three of 13 controlled acts outlined in the RHPA.
Council
The board that governs the College of Nurses of Ontario. Council consists of 39 members: 21 College members elected by the membership and 18 councillors appointed by the government.
Dual Registration
To be registered as both an RN and an RPN.
Extended Class
A class of registration available to RNs who have obtained advanced education and passed the Extended Class examination to become a Nurse Practitioner (NP).
General Class
The most common class of registration for RNs and RPNs.
Nurse
A registered nurse (RN) or a registered practical nurse (RPN). Only registered members of the College of Nurses of Ontario can call themselves a nurse or practise as a nurse within the province.
Nurse Practitioner
A registered nurse who is able to practise with extended scope in assessment, diagnosis and health care management. In Ontario, all nurse practitioners, or NPs, must belong to the College’s Extended Class.
Nursing Act
The Nursing Act, along with the Regulated Health Professions Act, authorizes the development of standards and regulations for nursing. It protects the titles “nurse,” “Registered Nurse,” “Registered Practical Nurse” and “Nurse Practitioner” in Ontario, and only individuals holding current registration with the College may use these titles.
Official Sources
The institutions that provide the information used to evaluate your application for registration. They include schools, employers, nurse registration boards and language testing services.
Professional Accountability
Professional accountability means being responsible for one’s actions and decisions, and accepting the consequences. Nurses demonstrate accountability through their decision-making, competency and integrity, and it is reflected through a nurse’s actions and through accurate documentation.
Professional Misconduct
A violation of the ethical standards set out for the profession, a failure to meet or a breach of the standards of practice, or crossing the boundaries of the therapeutic relationship. If a nurse is alleged to have committed an act of professional misconduct, the College will investigate and could refer the matter to disciplinary proceedings.
Registered Nurse (RN)
An individual who has been recognized and registered by the College as a Registered Nurse. Although all nursing students learn from the same body of nursing knowledge, RNs study it in greater depth and over a longer period of time than RPNs.
Registered Practical Nurse (RPN)
An individual who has been recognized and registered by the College as a Registered Practical Nurse.
Registrant
Any individual to whom the College has issued a certificate of registration. They are also known within the College as members.
Regulatory Body
An organization mandated by legislation with the task of overseeing the entry-to-practice requirements of a regulated profession, settings the standards of care for that profession, and monitoring the professional conduct of its members. In Ontario, the College of Nurses is the regulatory body that protects the public’s right to quality nursing.
Regulated Health Professions Act (RHPA)
The core legislation that applies to all regulated health professionals, including nurses. The focus of the RHPA is openness, consumer choice and quality care.
Retired Class
A registration class available to those College members aged 65 and over who have retired from nursing but still wish to use the title “Registered Nurse (Retired)” or “Registered Practical Nurse (Retired).”
Safe/Competent Nursing Practice
Competence is the ability of a nurse to integrate the professional attributes required to perform in a given role, situation or practice setting. Incompetence occurs when a member’s professional care of a client displays a lack of knowledge, skill or judgment, or a disregard for the welfare of a client to an extent that demonstrates the member is unfit to continue to practise, or should have their practice restricted. The College investigates all reported acts of incompetence, which can lead to disciplinary proceedings.
Self-Regulation
Self-regulation means that the profession governs itself, both through the College of Nurses, and individually in the sense that each member is responsible for practising according to the standards of the profession and for keeping current and competent throughout their nursing careers.
Special Assignment Class
A short-term, non-renewable registration for individuals, usually from outside Canada, who have an appointment or assignment as an RN or RPN with an approved facility and who do not plan to stay in Ontario for more than one year.
Specialty Certificate
A College document issued to a Nurse Practitioner that designates the client population for which the NP is qualified to provide care.
Standards of Practice
Documents that set out the expectations for a nurse’s conduct and practice. The three major components are professional standards, practice expectations, and legislation and regulations.
Temporary Class
A short-term registration available to individuals who have met all requirements for the General Class as a Registered Nurse (RN) or Registered Practical Nurse (RPN) except the successful completion of the national registration exam. Members in the Temporary Class are entitled to practise as a registered member with specified terms, conditions and limitations on how they may practise.
Therapeutic Nurse-Client Relationship
The relationship between the nurse and the client that serves as the foundation for providing quality nursing services. The relationship is based on trust, respect, intimacy and the appropriate use of the nurse’s inherent power.
Transitional Class
A limited-time registration that allows members of other Canadian nursing regulatory bodies who graduated after Jan. 1, 2005, and who do not meet the current RN or RPN education requirement to be registered in Ontario while pursuing further studies to meet the education requirement. (Note: the Transitional Class is not available to internationally educated nurses.)