Nurses and other health professionals practise to their full scope when they are in a practice environment that enables them to fully utilize their competencies, knowledge, and skills to provide high quality, evidence-based and patient-centred care.
The Commission on the Reform of Ontario’s Public Services is calling for an expansion to the scope of practice of nurses and other health professionals as a sustainability strategy for Ontario’s publicly-funded, not-for-profit health system.
College of Nurses of Ontario data estimates there are approximately 2,873 Registered Nurses (RNs) and 1,412 Registered Practical Nurses (RPNs) who practise in Ontario’s primary care system, totaling 4,285 nurses.
Primary care can be defined as “…that level of a health service system that provides entry into the system for all new needs and problems, provides person-focused (not disease-oriented) care over time, provides care for all but very uncommon or unusual conditions, and co-ordinates or integrates care provided elsewhere by others.