Optimizing the Nursing Role in Abortion Care: Considerations for Health Equity.

Registered nurses (RNs) provide abortion care in hospitals and clinics and support abortion care through sexual health education and family planning care in sexual health clinics, schools and family practice. Nurse practitioners (NPs) improve access to abortion not only as prescribers of medication abortion but also as primary care providers of counselling, resources about pregnancy options and abortion follow-up care in their communities. There is a need to better understand the current status of and potential scope for optimizing nursing roles in abortion care across Canada.

Constructing Good Nursing Practice for Medical Assistance in Dying in Canada: An Interpretive Descriptive Study.

Nurses play a central role in Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) in Canada. However, we know little about nurses' experiences with this new end-of-life option. The purpose of this study was to explore how nurses construct good nursing practice in the context of MAiD.

National Competencies for Registered Nurses in Primary Care: A Delphi Study.

A Delphi (consensus) process was used to obtain national agreement on competencies for registered nurses (RNs) in primary care. A draft of competencies was developed by key informants. Following this, nurses with primary care experience/expertise completed a Delphi survey to rate the importance of competency statements on a six-point Likert scale.

The rocks and hard places of MAiD: a qualitative study of nursing practice in the context of legislated assisted death.

Background: Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) was legalized in Canada in June, 2016. The Canadian government's decision to legislate assisted dying, an approach that requires a high degree of obligation, precision, and delegation, has resulted in unique challenges for health care and for nursing practice. The purpose of this study was to better understand the implications of a legislated approach to assisted death for nurses' experiences and nursing practice.

But it's legal, isn't it? Law and ethics in nursing practice related to medical assistance in dying.

In June 2015, the Supreme Court of Canada struck down the Criminal Code's prohibition on assisted death. Just over a year later, the federal government crafted legislation to entrench medical assistance in dying (MAiD), the term used in Canada in place of physician-assisted death. Notably, Canada became the first country to allow nurse practitioners to act as assessors and providers, a result of a strong lobby by the Canadian Nurses Association.

Medical Assistance in Dying: A Review of Canadian Nursing Regulatory Documents.

Canada's legalization of Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) in 2016 has had important implications for nursing regulators. Evidence indicates that registered nurses perform key roles in ensuring high-quality care for patients receiving MAiD. Further, Canada is the first country to recognize nurse practitioners as MAiD assessors and providers.

Commentary: Taking the Pulse on the Integration of the Clinical Nurse Specialist Role in Canada.

The Canadian Nurses Association (CNA) is pleased to provide this update on the integration of the clinical nurse specialist (CNS) role in Canada. Many advances have occurred since the publication of the special issue focused on advanced practice nursing (APN) in 2010. The CNA continues to promote and advance this APN role, and views the CNS as an essential and critical role for better care to Canadians.

[The prescribing rights of registered nurses in Canada].

In order to improve the performance of the healthcare system in Canada, registered nurses have been given the right to prescribe. The Canadian Nurses Association played a central role in the implementation of this change by developing a national reference framework, now available to Canadian provinces and territories.

The Autonomous-collaborative Care Model: meeting the future head on.

As care needs continue to increase in complexity in inpatient settings, and nurses' scope of practice evolves to keep pace with these changing demands, it is imperative that nurse leaders ensure nursing care delivery models are well aligned to current realities. Older, traditional models of nursing service may no longer foster safe, effective and efficient care or contribute to job satisfaction and high-quality work life for nurses. This paper describes the Autonomous-Collaborative Care Model and its application in a continuing care setting.