Nurses’ College Moves to Increase Transparency
At its March 12, 2015 meeting, the Council of the College of Nurses of Ontario (“College”) approved by-law amendments that will result in more information about nurses being available to the public. These changes are part of the College’s work with the Advisory Group for Regulatory Excellence (“AGRE”) and the wider ongoing transparency initiative currently being undertaken by of all Ontario’s health regulatory colleges to increase the amount of information publicly available about health care professionals.
The by-law amendments require that the College post the following information about its members on the public register, which is accessible on the College’s website:
notifications regarding the status of all hearings before the Discipline Committee, including applications for reinstatement;
a full copy of every notice of hearing where an allegation of professional misconduct or incompetence has been referred to the Discipline Committee in respect of a member;
a summary of any criminal findings of guilt that relate to the member’s practice;
a summary of any restrictions imposed by a court or other lawful authority that impact a member’s practice, such as bail conditions.
These recent changes are only Phase 1 of the College’s commitment to transparency. The College’s Phase 2 by-law amendments were approved for consultation at the same Council meeting in March. These additional changes will give the College the authority to make the following information about nurses available to the public:
registrations or licenses to practice nursing in another jurisdiction;
findings of professional misconduct or incompetence in any other profession or jurisdiction;
professional privileges held at any hospital or health facility in Ontario;
oral cautions;
specified continuing education or remediation programs; and
criminal charges.
The College is accepting feedback from nurses, the public and other stakeholders on the Phase 2 by-law changes until May 15, 2015. The College’s Council will then likely consider whether to approve these changes at its next meeting on June 11, 2015. These changes will have a significant impact on the way the College operates and on all nurses who are subject to a College complaint or investigation. We will provide an update as soon as these amendments are approved.For more information regarding these changes to the College of Nurses of Ontario by-laws and how they may affect you and/or your practice, please contact us.
