Professional Practice

| Services | Professional Practice

The College of Nurses of Ontario (CNO) and other regulatory bodies have Standards of Practice that registrants are expected to meet in order to provide safe, ethical and quality patient/client/resident care within their scope of practice.

ONA has developed the Professional Responsibility and Workload (PRW) process to resolve professional practice and workload issues.

By engaging in the PRW process, you are playing a pivotal role in meeting your Accountability Standard for your regulatory college, while advocating for patient safety and quality patient care.

Stay Informed

Sign up for eNews to get the latest professional practice updates.

Looking for sector-specific resources?

Find Professional Responsibility Workload Report Forms (PRWRFs) and other resources specific to your sector, on the ONA Professional Practice webpage.

At the time of the Workload occurrence, discuss the issue within your unit to develop strategies to meet patient care needs using current resources.
If no resolution, seek assistance from your Clinical Leader, Manager, Manager on call, PCC.
If no resolution, then document all avenues taken on the Workload Report Form. Complete the Workload Report Form and submit it by email to your manager, copy to yourself, Ann Scott and Claudia Rodas.
Meet your manager the next day that you and your manager are both working or within 10 calendar days whichever comes sooner. This meeting can occur over the phone.
Your manager will provide a written response to you on the Workload Report Form within 10 calendar days of receipt of the Form and she/he will copy to the Bargaining Unit President, Ann Scott local034@ona.org.
When meeting with your manager you may request an ONA Rep to attend the meeting. Contact Ann Scott and Claudia Rodas as soon as the date of the meeting is known to arrange this.
Every effort will be made to resolve Workload issues at the unit level.
Failing resolution at the unit level, the Workload Report Form will be forwarded to HAC (Hospital Association Committee) within 20 calendar days from the date of the Manager’s response or when she/he ought to have responded.
The Workload issues will be raised at the next HAC (Hospital Association) Committee meeting.

Resources

Professional Responsibility and Workload Process: A Guide for ONA Members

College of Nurses of Ontario Professional Standards

Ask-a-Specialist Sessions

Have a question?

If you need assistance with the Workload Report Forms or have any questions regarding professional practice, please contact your Bargaining Unit President and/or your Professional Practice rep.