Amendments have been made to the Registered Nurses Regulations to give

Registered Nurses in Newfoundland and Labrador the ability to prescribe, including referrals to specialists. These changes build upon ongoing efforts to allow health care professionals to work to their full scope of practice, as the Provincial Government continues to address recruitment and retention challenges.

The Honourable Tom Osborne, Minister of Health and Community Services, along with Lynn Power, Executive Director of the College of Registered Nurses of Newfoundland and Labrador, will be available to the media today (Monday, April 3) at 10:30 a.m. to discuss the amendments. The availability will take place in front of the House of Assembly, East Block, Confederation Building, and will be livestreamed on Facebook.

In collaboration with the College of Registered Nurses of Newfoundland and Labrador, extensive consultations were conducted with stakeholders regarding the expansion of the scope of practice.

To guide prescribing, a framework has been developed by the College, as well as guidelines. This includes the requirement for Registered Nurses to complete additional prescribing education from a program approved by the College of Registered Nurses of Newfoundland and Labrador Council, along with continuing competency requirements. The College is focused on ensuring only those who are authorized, educated and competent can apply for the designation of Registered Nurse prescribing, meeting its public protection mandate.

Prior to the amendments, Registered Nurses did not have the authority to prescribe medications, order laboratory and diagnostic screening tests, or other non-pharmacological interventions, including referrals to specialists.

Additional amendments to the Regulations also provide for the implementation of a Supervised Practice Experience Partnership Program. The purpose of the program is to provide an alternative, practice-based path to licensure for Registered Nurse applicants who have not practiced enough hours to meet licensure requirements in the province. This allows for an additional pathway to supervised licensure for individuals who would currently be required to complete a Registered Nurse re-entry program, which would have cost up to $10,000 and taken up to 18 months. This additional pathway should lead to additional nursing professionals for the province.

Quotes
“Through a collaboration with the College of Registered Nurses of Newfoundland and Labrador, we have made changes that will have a positive impact on the delivery of health care in our province. Allowing health care professionals like Registered Nurses the ability to expand their scope of practice builds upon our numerous efforts to date to increase health care access for residents. We are also pleased to provide an additional pathway to help get more Registered Nurses into the health care system to support the dedicated professionals currently providing valuable care.”
Honourable Tom Osborne
Minister of Health and Community Services

“The primary mandate of the College of Registered Nurses is to ensure that RNs provide care that is ethical, safe, and competent. With the introduction of Registered Nurse Prescribing, we are confident that Newfoundlanders and Labradorians will have a broader access to the health services they need and deserve. The Supervised Practice Experience Partnership program will serve as an additional pathway for nurses to become licensed in our province, and is one of many initiatives being developed by the College to increase the number of RNs in our health system. We are proud to partner with the Provincial Government to introduce these fundamental reforms which will benefit the people of our province.”
Lynn Power, Executive Director, College of Registered Nurses of Newfoundland and Labrador

-30-

Learn more
Follow us on Twitter @GovNL and @HCS_GovNL

Like us on Facebook