Statement from College of Nurses Council President Naomi Thick

TORONTO, Aug. 18, 2022 /CNW/ - At the College of Nurses of Ontario (CNO), our purpose is clear: to protect the public through the promotion of safe nursing practice. This includes registering nurses with the knowledge, skill and judgment to practice safely in Ontario, whether educated in Canada or internationally.

Today we are pleased to respond to the Minister of Health, the Hon. Sylvia Jones, and propose new initiatives and regulatory changes which will add to our ongoing efforts to increase the number of new nurses available to the health care system.

CNO analysis of applicant data identifies how we can best focus our efforts to register more nurses. We have the potential to register 5,970 net new internationally educated nurse (IEN) applicants over the weeks and months to come. These applicants reside in Ontario and are actively working toward registration and therefore are potentially available to the health care system.

Our public protection mandate is as important as ever and we know by building on existing initiatives, leveraging Ministry leadership and actively collaborating with partners in government, academia and the health care system, we can register more nurses to practice safely in Ontario.

2022 is already a year of milestones for CNO, including registering a record number of IENs, and we look forward to building on this success.

CNO remains committed to partnering and collaborating with the Ministry of Health, our partners in the health care system and others to address this shared challenge.

SOURCE College of Nurses of Ontario