Role of Practice Support

We have developed a model to explain the role of Practice Support in promoting safe nursing practice. The College uses information generated from the three sources of input in the model to identify resources that need to be developed, and the best way to support stakeholders who will be using these resources. Together, the inputs and outputs in the model create a program that leads to protecting the public. This is one way the College provides practice support.

For example, the Practice Support team could receive input from stakeholders about an area of risk regarding a certain medication. The team would then develop new resources and/or update current resources to help nurses and nursing employers apply the College’s Medication practice standard regarding that medication.

Protect the public

Protecting the public is the College’s legislated mandate. We meet this mandate by ensuring safe nursing practice. One way we do this is by developing and maintaining standards of practice.

Identified stakeholder needs

A stakeholder is a group that has shared interests with the College. We engage with a variety of stakeholders including, but not limited to:

• members of the public who receive care from nurses
• nursing employers
• nurse educators
• students
• government
• nurse associations and unions.

We use our engagement with these groups to identify key issues that relate to our legislative mandate to protect the public. For example, we can identify trends or hot topics in nursing or the health care field. We also identify ways we can support their needs, such as, developing an online “tool kit” that employers can access to help them support their nursing staff in applying the College’s practice standards.

Areas of risk in practice

The College analyzes internal data (for example, the data we have related to nursing conduct) as well as current trends, issues and literature to identify potential areas of risk to the public.

Legislative requirements

Nurses, as regulated health care professionals, are accountable for meeting their legislative requirements, as are other stakeholders, such as nursing employers. Our role is to help stakeholders understand the legislation and how it relates to safe nursing practice.

Develop standards and resources

The College’s practice standards outline the expectations for nurses. They inform nurses of their accountabilities, and the public and other stakeholders of what to expect of nurses. We develop and maintain these standards and other educational resources to support safe nursing practice.

Support application of standards

The College provides a variety of educational and consultative resources to help nurses and other stakeholders understand the standards and how to apply them to nursing practice.

Increase access to resources

After the College identifies stakeholder needs, we will develop new online resources that are relevant to all stakeholders, not just nurses, and that can be accessed at any time by anyone. For example, offering an online resource for patients and their families to help them understand what to expect from nursing care.