Manitobans are invited to take part in public consultations on the regulation of registered nursing in Manitoba as the College of Registered Nurses of Manitoba continues to work towards regulations under the Regulated Health Professions Act. This statement was made by Health Minister Sharon Blady.
“Nurses provide vital front-line health-care services to Manitoba families across our province,” said Minister Blady. “We are proud of the work that they do and happy the College of Registered Nurses of Manitoba is now at the public consultation stage for the proposed new regulations. Manitobans are encouraged to review the information and share their thoughts.”
The Regulated Health Professions Act came into effect in January 2014 to ensure all regulated health professions in Manitoba are governed by consistent, uniform regulations with an enhanced focus on patient safety and accountability. The legislation includes a list of activities and procedures called reserved acts that regulated health professionals may be authorized to perform when providing health care based on their competence and skills.
“The staff and board members of the college have worked tirelessly over the last several years to ensure that the regulations are reflective of current registered nurse practice,” said Patricia Benjaminson, registered nurse, and president, College of Registered Nurses of Manitoba. “The new registered nurse (authorized prescriber) role is an excellent example of that.”
The minister noted the regulations would provide the authority for registered nurses to make full use of their knowledge, skill and judgment to ensure Manitobans receive access to the best care in an inter-professional environment. The reserved act of ordering and receiving reports of screening or diagnostic tests for registered nurses is reflective of the inter-professional nature of health-care provision in Manitoba today, the minister noted.
Regulations are needed to bring the registered nursing profession under the Regulated Health Professions Act, the minister said. The new regulations would ensure registered nurses can practice to the full extent of their training, knowledge and experience, the minister added.
The Practice of Registered Nursing Regulation provides for the reserved acts that members of the College of Registered Nurses of Manitoba will have the authority to perform. The regulations contain all of the reserved acts that will be authorized for the practices of registered nurses, registered nurses (authorized prescriber) and registered nurses (nurse practitioner).
The performance of some of the reserved acts would be subject to terms and conditions. These are outlined in the proposed College of Registered Nurses of Manitoba General Regulation, which can be found at www.crnm.mb.ca.
The minister noted the regulation of nurses under the legislation would be expected to improve patient safety by increasing access to health services, as well as lead to improved and more accessible patient care.
The regulations were developed after consultations conducted by the college over the past five years including connecting with the college’s membership, employers of registered nurses including the regional health authorities, registered nursing education programs, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba, the College of Pharmacists of Manitoba and others.
