Standards and Best Practices

Standards are necessary to demonstrate to the public, government and other stakeholders that a profession is dedicated to maintaining public trust and upholding the criteria of its professional practice.

Nurses have been leaders in the field of standards development. Since Nursing is the largest health profession providing care to individuals, families, groups, communities and populations in a multiplicity of settings, standards have an important role in guiding nursing practice.

Nursing is a self-regulating profession, meaning that the provincial/territorial governments delegate to the nursing profession, by statute, the power to regulate itself in the interest of the public.

One of the characteristics of a self-regulating profession is the development of standards of practice, based on the values of the profession. For nurses in Canada, these values are articulated in the Code of Ethics for Registered Nurses. Regulatory bodies for nursing have the legal requirement to set standards of practice for registered nurses to protect the public in their province or territory. Together, the code of ethics and standards provide the basis for nursing practice in Canada. Therefore, the provincial/territorial regulatory bodies establish, monitor and enforce standards of professional practice and conduct. Below are links to jurisdictional standards currently available.

College of Registered Nurses of British Columbia

College and Association of Registered Nurses of Alberta

Saskatchewan Registered Nurses’ Association

College of Registered Nurses of Manitoba

College of Nurses of Ontario

Ordre des infirmières et infirmiers du Québec

Nurses Association of New Brunswick

College of Registered Nurses of Nova Scotia

Association of Registered Nurses of Newfoundland and Labrador

Registered Nurses Association of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut

Standards enable nurses to promote safe, competent and ethical practice. Today nurses are developing standards at a variety of levels and in a range of settings. In the past decade, a number of specialty groups have become designated under the CNA Certification Program:

Canadian Council of Cardiovascular Nurses

Canadian Association of Critical Care Nurses

Canadian Association of Rehabilitation Nurses

Canadian Society of Gastroenterology Nurses and Associates

Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association

Canadian Orthopaedic Nurses Association

National Emergency Nurses' Affiliation

Canadian Gerontological Nursing Association

Canadian Association of Nephrology Nurses and Technologists

Canadian Association of Neuroscience Nurses

Canadian Occupational Health Nurses Association

Canadian Association of Nurses in Oncology

Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses - Canada

Operating Room Nurses Association of Canada

Canadian Federation of Mental Health Nurses

Community Health Nurses Association of Canada