No. CNO does not specify the number of hours that a nurse must practice to complete the SPE. The time period is determined by the individual nurse and their sponsor organization, based on their learning needs. It will vary depending on a nurse’s experience, knowledge and skill level.

Yes. CNO will inform the nurse if the SPE request is denied.

No, the sponsoring organization is not required to pay. CNO will accept paid or unpaid SPE.

No. CNO does not assess or approve the learning needs that a nurse has identified for their SPE. Each nurse is responsible for reflecting and determining their own unique learning needs based on a variety of factors, such as experience, education, time in or away from the role and so on.

Each sponsor organization is responsible for determining whether it is able to support a nurse completing an SPE, including what it may require from the nurse in order to do so (for example, a learning plan).

No. A nurse is responsible for identifying an appropriate organization to meet their learning needs. CNO reviews the relevant documents submitted in support of the SPE application on a case-by-case basis.

No. An organization’s decision to support a nurse’s SPE is voluntary. CNO does not mandate or require any organization to sponsor a nurse’s SPE.

The sponsor organization is required to confirm that the nurse has completed the requirements of the SPE as outlined in the Information for Sponsor Organizations. If the organization answers “no” to the question about whether they would re-employ the nurse on the Supervised Practice Experience Completion Form, it should include information about any concerns it has about the nurse’s practice, conduct or health. However, it is CNO’s responsibility to determine whether the nurse has met the requirements to be reinstated in the General Class.

Nurses can complete SPEs in a variety of practice settings. As such, the sponsor organization is best equipped to determine the resources needed to support the SPE nurse. As a starting point, the resources may look similar to what the sponsor organization would provide to a new staff member in orientation, but they will also depend on the needs of the individual nurse. If you are looking for resources you can use as a sponsor organization to help the nurse understand CNO’s standards and how to apply them to their practice, please refer to CNO’s Standards & Learning page.

You can read more about what to report and when to report your concerns to CNO in our Reporting Guide.