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Page modified October 27, 2009

Member Register FAQs

The following are FAQs about the College’s Register, which includes public information about members’ business address and registration status. To read the article that was published in the Fall 2008 issue of The Standard, click here.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Register?

The College has always maintained a Register of public information that includes a member’s name, business address and registration status. As members of a self-regulated health profession, nurses are required to provide a business address if employed, whether working in nursing, other than nursing or self-employed. Information about the Register appears in the Annual Membership Renewal Instruction Guide that is sent to all members every fall.

Currently, the public can contact the College to obtain Register information about a member. By June 4, 2009, the Register will be available on the website.

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Why is the Register going on the website?

In 2007, the Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991 (RHPA) was amended to require all Ontario health regulatory colleges to put the member Register on their websites by June 4, 2009.

An online Register is one of several RHPA amendments set to come into effect on June 4, 2009. The requirements were designed to increase openness, accountability, public safety and confidence and will help Ontario health regulatory colleges become more responsive to the information needs of the public.

For more on the RHPA amendments read "Increasing public confidence" in the Fall 2008 issue of The Standard.

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Will my personal information be on the website?

Personal information, such as a member’s home address and phone number, are not included on the Register and will not be available to the public.

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What other information will be available on the Register?

The Register will have information about a member’s registration status and discipline findings. (Information about a member’s discipline findings is currently available on the College’s website.) For more details on the Register read "Increasing public confidence" in the Fall 2008 issue of The Standard. The chart on page 15 provides detailed information on the contents of the Register.

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Are nurses the only health care professionals with an online Register?

All 23 Ontario health regulatory colleges will have their Registers of members on their websites starting June 4, 2009. Some colleges already have the Register online, such as the College of Physicians and Surgeon of Ontario which has had a Register of members on their website since 1997.

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I’m concerned for my safety. Can I have my information removed from the Register?

Members with serious safety concerns have always had the ability to have their information removed from the Register. The RHPA has provisions to protect individuals who have a documented and identified risk to their safety. Specifically, the Executive Director of the College of Nurses of Ontario has the authority to withhold information if there are "reasonable grounds to believe that disclosure may jeopardize the safety of an individual."

There must be a documented and identified risk, not a general perceived risk such as working in a certain type of facility or living in a small community.

Members who have a documented and identified risk should send their request to have their information removed from the Register and copies of the documentation to:

College of Nurses of Ontario
101 Davenport Rd.
Toronto, ON
M5R 3P1
Attn: Executive Director

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I work from home. Can I use another address on the Register?

Members who operate a business from home and are concerned about the public accessing their address can designate an alternate Register address, such as a post office box and a contact phone number through which a member of the public can be reasonably certain of reaching the member. This provision has always been available to members and is explained in the Annual Membership Renewal Instruction Guide that is sent to members every fall.

To designate or change an alternate Register address, send a written request to:

Customer Service
College of Nurses of Ontario
101 Davenport Rd.
Toronto, ON
M5R 3P1

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If there is a finding of incapacity made by the Fitness to Practise Committee, will the information always be on the Register, even if I have dealt with the condition or disorder?

Yes, if a member has a finding of incapacity, the information, plus any order made as a result of the finding, will be posted on the Register indefinitely. After six years, the member is eligible to make a request in writing to the Fitness to Practise Committee to have the information removed. The Committee can direct that the information be removed from the Register if they believe it is in the public’s interest to do so.

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If a nurse is in the middle of a disciplinary hearing at the College of Nurses of Ontario, but there hasn’t been an outcome yet, does that information go on the Register so that the member is prevented from applying for registration in another province or jurisdiction?

The fact that a member has been referred to the Discipline Committee will be posted on the Register until the hearing is over and there is a final outcome. If requested, the College can provide other jurisdictions with information that is posted on the Register about the member who has applied to be registered in another province. It is up to each province to determine whether an applicant should be registered to practise in their jurisdiction.

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If there was a disciplinary or incapacity hearing and the committee made no findings, does that information stay on the Register indefinitely?

No. Information about a referral to the discipline or incapacity committee will be on the Register until there is a final outcome. If the committee makes no finding of professional misconduct, incompetence or incapacity, the referral information is removed from the Register. However, if the committee does make a finding against the nurse, that information, and any order that was made, will be posted on the Register.

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