The Nova Scotia College of Nursing was pleased to participate in Premier Tim Houston’s Health Care Summit with other health care partners on January 17, 2023.
The summit, which was held to prioritize solutions for Nova Scotia’s health care system, brought together the province’s leaders in health care including government, health care employers, regulatory bodies, associations, unions and the province’s health care educational institutions. All meeting participants play an important role in ensuring that Nova Scotian’s have access to health care in this province.
It is NSCN’s role to protect the public through nursing regulation. This includes ensuring our registration processes lead to the supply of qualified nurses in the health care system. We are responsible to ensure Nova Scotians receive nursing care only from those who have the skill and competence that is required for the role.
During the meeting, NSCN was able to discuss enhancements we have implemented as the nursing regulator to positively impact the supply of nurses. And more nurses in the health care system are needed. NSCN’s ongoing enhancements include:
- Simplifying and streamlining the registration process.
- Providing nursing applicants with earlier access to registration exams and entry-to-practice.
- Optimizing the role of nurses in order to improve access to care.
During the summit, NSCN and others at the table highlighted the importance of exploring more opportunities to optimize the scope of practice for all health care professionals, including nurses who represent the largest group of health care professionals in the province. NSCN looks forward to ongoing collaboration with our partners in health care to identify and deliver solutions that benefit Nova Scotians.
