The following information is for organizations interested in providing a Supervised Practice Experience (SPE) as a sponsor organization.
The SPE is a self-directed option that allows nurses registered in the Non-Practising Class to fulfill their evidence of practice requirement and requalify for registration with CNO in the General Class.
Nurses who choose to participate in a SPE will contact a potential sponsor organization in Ontario and arrange for their practice experience.
Read the Reinstatement Guide for more details about this initiative.
Sponsor organization’s responsibilities
A sponsor organization for a SPE must be approved by CNO and agree to:
- complete the SPE Sponsoring Organization, Nurse and Supervisor Agreement Form
- assign a nurse supervisor to supervise the nurse (If the SPE nurse is an RPN, the supervisor can be an RPN, RN or NP; if the SPE nurse is an RN, the supervisor must be either an RN or an NP.)
- provide the name of the primary supervising nurse (primary contact) to CNO
- arrange for orientation to inform the SPE nurse about relevant policies, procedures and resource materials as well as the general practice environment
- offer a supervised practice experience appropriate to the nurse’s competence and within their legislated scope of practice (The SPE nurse may perform the five controlled acts authorized to nursing. Read the information for nurses page for details of a nurse’s accountabilities.)
- contact CNO regarding concerns or clarifications when needed
- report to CNO if there is reason to believe that the supervised nurse has sexually abused a client or is incompetent or incapacitated (refer to the Reporting Guide for more information)
- complete documentation to verify completion of the practice experience
There is no minimum number of hours required for a nurse to complete the practice experience. The time period is determined by the nurse’s individual learning needs. However, nurses must complete their SPE within a six-month period.
When you agree to be a sponsor organization for a nurse’s SPE, you should consider whether Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) coverage is required, based on your organization’s policies.
Organizations cannot use the supervised nurse to replace their nursing staff.
Nurse supervisor responsibilities
The role of the supervisor is pivotal to the practice experience. The supervisor acts as are source, role model, mentor/coach and supervisor. Supervision may be direct or in direct, depending on the needs of the supervised nurse. Indirect supervision means the supervisor is readily available for consultation but is not directly at the side of the supervised nurse as she works.
The supervisor must:
- hold a current RPN, RN or NP Certificate of Registration in the General Class or Extended Class with CNO
- have a minimum of three consecutive years of nursing practice experience
- not be the subject of any investigations or have an open file with the CNO’s Quality Assurance Program
- have sufficient time and resources to take on the responsibility of supervision
- disclose to CNO any pre-existing relationship (such as family, social/personal or business) with the supervised nurse that might interfere with their ability to objectively evaluate thesupervised nurse
Multiple supervisors can oversee the practice experience of the participating nurse, but a primary supervisor must be chosen as the contact for CNO.