Who should use practice support?
Practice support is for anyone who has questions about nursing practice.
You should use practice support if you have questions about:
- a practice situation or
- your scope of practice
Before you submit a question, you may want to check the Practice Support FAQs page to see whether it has already been answered.
What does practice support do?
Our Practice Consultants are available to help nurses access the tools they need to make the best decisions about providing safe, competent and ethical nursing care.
It is not always possible for our Practice Consultants to provide a simple yes-or-no answer because nursing practice is complex, and what a nurse has the authority to do can vary based on legislation and employer policies that apply to a specific practice setting. Nurses are expected to determine whether they have the knowledge, skill and judgment to proceed with any task or role.
CNO Practice Consultants will help you identify the appropriate resources to guide your decision making and help you understand nursing accountabilities by:
- directing you to CNO resources, such as educational tools, FAQs and guidance documents on our website that apply to your question
- helping you to identify nursing accountabilities
- explaining how the Code of Conduct and practice standards apply to your situation
- referring you to additional sources of information
CNO’s duty is to protect the public interest through the regulation of our registrants. Practice Support is one way that CNO assists nurses, members of the public and system partners.
How do I submit my practice-related question?
You can submit your question(s) using the practice support form.
How will I receive a response?
You will receive a response by email. If you need additional support, or we need more clarity on the issue, we may call you and follow up with an email summarizing the discussion.
How long does it take to get a response?
We respond to the majority of questions within three business days. However, if the scope of your inquiry goes beyond Practice Support and we need to consult with other areas of CNO, or externally, we could take longer to respond.
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