School of Nursing - The Chang School - Ryerson University

CNO STANDARDS OF PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE
Introduction
The Professional Standards provide an overall
framework for the practice of nursing an link with
other standards, guidelines and competencies
developed by the College of Nurses of Ontario
(CNO). The Professional Standards describe in
broad terms the professional expectations for
nurses 1 and apply to all nurses, in every area of
practice.
The Professional Standards include seven broad
standard statements, a description of the
statement and indicators that illustrate how the
standard may be demonstrated. To help nurses
apply the standards, there are indicators for all
nurses and for those in administrative,
educational and research positions. As well,
three of the standards (Knowledge, Application
of Knowledge and Leadership) have indicators
for RNs.
The indicators used in this document are not a
complete list, nor do they apply to all nurses at
all times. As well, the seven standards are
interrelated and an indicator used to illustrate
one standard may also demonstrate the
application of other standards. How a nurse
demonstrates a standard is influenced by the
nurse’s level of competence, role, practice
setting and the situation. However, it is expected
that all nurses will meet the expectations of
these professional standards and will be able to
articulate how they demonstrate the standards in
their practice.
• all nurses continually enhance their
knowledge through education, experience
and Reflective Practice. Nurses can become
experts in an area of practice within their
category.
A standard is an authoritative statement that
sets out the legal and professional basis of
nursing practice. Examples of CNO’s standards
of practice include the Therapeutic Nurse-Client
Relationship, Medication, and the professional
misconduct regulations.
All standards of practice provide a guide to the
knowledge, skills, judgement and attitudes that
are needed to practise safely. They describe
what each nurse is accountable and responsible
for in practice. Standards represent performance
criteria for nurses and can interpret nursing’s
scope of practice to the public and other health
care professionals. Standards can be used to
stimulate peer feedback, encourage research to
validate practice and to generate research
questions that lead to improvement of health
care delivery. Finally, standards aid in
developing a better understanding and respect
for the various and complementary roles that
nurses have.
Guiding principles
The following principles were used in the
development of the Professional Standards:
• in Ontario, nursing is one profession with
two categories — RN and RPN;
• the foundational knowledge base of RNs
and RPNs is different as a result of
differences in basic nursing education;
• all nurses are accountable for their own
decisions and actions and for maintaining
competence throughout their careers;
• clients 2 are the central focus of the
professional service nurses provide, and as
partners in the decision-making process,
they ultimately make their own decisions;
• the goal of professional practice 3 is to obtain
the best possible outcome for clients, with
no unnecessary exposure to risk of harm;
and,
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