Health Transition Fund Final Report - Projects Listed By Subject Area

there are some similarities in the titling, there is certainly no agreement on the use of the NP term across
Canada.
The Canadian Nurses Association has expressed a desire to eliminate the proliferation of nursing
titles. In spite of its use in the literature and in some areas of Canada, there is a certain degree of
discomfort with the term “nurse practitioner”. Despite this reluctance to refer to nurses in
extended/expanded roles as NPs, registered nurses licenced in the extended class in Ontario are hired as
NPs and have formed an association by the same name. The protection of the NP title under legislation
in Newfoundland and Labrador is unique in Canada.
While provincial legislation and protocols may vary, there seems to be recognition by the public
that registered nurses in extended/expanded roles undertake some functions that are similar to physicians.
Because this is a nursing role not a medical one, practitioners view themselves as working from a nursing
perspective. For the purposes of consistency there ought to be some uniformity in the titles used throughout
the country to facilitate easy identification of registered nurses with extended/expanded nursing practice
roles by the public and other health care providers.
The Centre for Nursing Studies in collaboration with
The Institute for the Advancement of Public Policy, Inc. 17