ONP Update - Fall 2005

The Office of Nursing Policy
Health Canada
November 11, 2005

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The Office of Nursing Policy remembers our Colleagues who lost their lives while serving the public - November 11, 2005

Table of Contents

• National Survey of the Work and Health of Nurses
• ONP bids goodbye to valued colleague and welcomes doctoral student placement
• ONP Initiatives
• Awards
• Other Initiatives of Note
• Events of Interest
• ONP on the Road

National Survey of the Work and Health of Nurses

The Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) in collaboration with Statistics Canada and Health Canada, is undertaking a national survey on the work and health of nurses. This October, Statistics Canada began surveying (via telephone) approximately 24,000 registered nurses (RNs), licensed practical nurses (LPNs), and registered psychiatric nurses (RPNs) from across Canada. The survey will help to identify relationships between selected health outcomes, the work environment, and work-life experiences. The survey will produce valuable information on the health and working conditions of nurses throughout Canada. If contacted, your participation is vital to ensure that the needs and experiences of nurses are well represented. For more information, please contact: Robin Carriere, Consultant, Health Human Resources, Canadian Institute for Health Information, Email: rcarriere@cihi.ca

Website: The Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI)

ONP bids goodbye to valued colleague and welcomes a new colleague

It is with very mixed emotions that the Office of Nursing Policy announces the departure of Barbara Foster. Barbara leaves us to take on a challenging position as lead on the Diabetes Strategy at the Public Health Agency of Canada. We are so sorry to see her leave but we wish her much success in her new position.

Taking over Barb's work on the Interprofessional Education for Collaborative Patient-Centred Practice Initiative is Sue Beardall. Sue is a registered nurse with 10 years experience as a staff nurse in both Canada and England. Since obtaining her MHSc in Community Health and Epidemiology, Sue has worked at the Canadian Medical Association in the quality of care area, primarily around clinical practice guideline implementation. Since then, she has also gained experience in indicator development as well as patient safety and adverse events. Most recently, she worked as a knowledge broker at the Canadian Health Services Research Foundation in the nursing theme and then the Managing Quality and Safety theme.

ONP Initiatives

The Office of Nursing Policy continues to lead two initiatives that are part of the Pan-Canadian Health Human Resource Strategy.

1. Interprofessional Education for Collaborative Patient-Centred Practice Initiative (IECPCP)

The objectives of this initiative are:

• promoting and demonstrating the benefits of IECPCP;
• increasing the number of educators prepared to teach from an interprofessional collaborative patient-centred perspective;
• increasing the number of health professionals trained for collaborative patient-centred practice before and after entry-to-practice;
• stimulating networking and sharing of best educational approaches for collaborative patient-centred practice; and
• facilitating interprofessional collaborative care in both the education and practice settings.

Please monitor the website at: Health Human Resource Strategy to learn more about this initiative.

2. Healthy Workplace Initiative (HWI)

HWI Launches 11 Innovative Projects

Health Canada is providing up to $4 million in targeted funding to support existing innovative healthy workplace initiatives from individual health care organizations across the country.

Many of the 11 successful applicants have now launched their exciting initiatives. A list of these projects is provided on the new HWI website at: Health Canada's Healthy Workplace Initiative.

HWI: Spotlight on Complementary Projects

To address gaps in our knowledge about healthy workplaces, Health Canada is pleased to support work in the following areas:

• Quality of Worklife - Quality of Healthcare Collaboration: Linking Quality of Work Life, Human Resource Practices, and Health System Results, by the QWQHC Secretariat (Canadian Council on Health Services Accreditation). This multi-stakeholder collaboration seeks to share information and coordinate action on healthy workplaces throughout the country.
• Retaining and Valuing Experienced Nurses , by the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions. Research findings are coming soon on successful workplace practices and collective agreements that impact the work environment and retention of experienced nurses.
• Healthy Workplaces Related to Home and Community Nursing and the Impact on Recruitment and Retention, by VON Canada. This project will provide much-needed information about what supports need to be in place to contribute to a healthy workplace in a community or home care setting.

ONP welcomes Isabelle St. Pierre

ONP is pleased to support Isabelle St. Pierre in her work: Evaluative Action Research to Create Healthy Workplaces . As part of this project, Isabelle will describe and evaluate key processes and factors contributing to an optimal and innovating workplace.

Isabelle is a registered nurse currently enrolled in the PhD program at McGill University and a recipient of a FERASI doctoral scholarship. In addition to nursing, Isabelle's background includes Occupational Health and Safety and Adult Education.

Healthy Workplace Initiative may be directed to Kathie Paddock, Policy Advisor, at: (613) 948-3677, or by e-mail at: Kathie_Paddock@hc-sc.gc.ca .

Awards

Rob Calnan, Chair of the Practice and Evaluation Taskforce with the Canadian Nurse Practitioner Initiative, recently received a distinguished alumnae award from the British Columbia Institute of Technology in recognition of his contribution to the profession of nursing. Congratulations.

Congratulations are also extended to Lucille Auffrey, Executive Director of the Canadian Nurses Association (CNA). In honour of National Nursing Week, May 9 to 15, Mayor Bob Chiarelli proclaimed May 11 as "Lucille Auffrey Day" in the City of Ottawa. Well done, Lucille.

Mary Ferguson Par é was awarded the inaugural Nursing Leadership Award from Canadian College of Health Service Executives (CCHSE), made possible by a grant from Baxter Corporation.

ONP wishes to congratulate Dr. Sue Matthews for earning her PhD in Public Health at the Charles Sturt University in Australia.

Other Initiatives of Note

Historic Moment for Nurses: First Writing of the Canadian Nurse Practitioner Examination

Congratulations to 11 registered nurses in Manitoba who entered the history books on November 8, 2005 when they become the first RNs to write the Canadian Nurse Practitioner Examination: Family/All Ages (CNPE).

The Canadian Nurse Practitioner Examination: Family/ All Ag es is based on the first-ever Canadian Nurse Practitioner Core Competency Framework , a major milestone in the evolution of the NP role in Canada. The exam was developed along with the Canadian Nurse Practitioner Examination: Family/All Ages Blueprint and Prep Guide .

The Canadian Nurse Practitioner Initiative, an $8.9 million project, is funded by Health Canada through the Primary Health Care Transition Fund, established by the Government of Canada to provide better access to primary health care for all Canadians.

F/P/T Ministers of Health reaffirm commitment

At their annual meeting in October, Canada's Federal, Provincial, and Territorial Ministers of Health reaffirmed their commitment to the implementation of the 10-Year Plan to Strengthen Health Care. All Ministers agreed that substantial and definable progress is being made to make health care more accessible across Canada at a time when society is ageing and the demand for health services is increasing. As agreed by First Ministers, by December 31, 2005, all jurisdictions will establish a first set of evidenced-based benchmarks for medically acceptable wait times in all five priority areas: cancer, heart, diagnostic imaging, joint replacements, and sight restoration. This will include comparable indicators of access to health care professionals.

Discussion Document on Formal Nurse: Patient Ratios Released

The Office of Nursing Policy contributed to the development of a discussion paper on formal nurse to patient ratios by the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions (CFNU). On October 3, 2005, The CFNU released Enhancement of Patient Safety Through Formal Nurse-Patient Ratios: A Discussion Paper .

"Nurse-patient ratios or nurse staffing plans may provide a formalized mechanism that nurses and the general public can use to hold health organizations accountable for their staffing decisions," says Linda Silas, RN, BScN, President of CFNU. Sandra MacDonald-Rencz, Acting Executive Director, Office of Nursing Policy, states "the debate on nurse- to-patient ratios relates to the stability of the nursing workforce in Canada. We are pleased to have been able to support this initiative and look forward to the dialogue this document will promote".

For further information, see the CFNU website at: Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions

National Survey on Nursing Practice in Rural and Remote Canada

The ONP recently received a copy of the report of the National Survey of Nursing Practice. The report represents the views of almost 4,000 RNs from across Canada on issues related to work-settings, nursing practice, satisfaction with work, and career plans. The survey was lead by investigators at the University of Saskatchewan (see the citation below) and is one of four components of a larger project on "The Nature of Nursing Practice in Rural and Remote Canada". (Available at: Nature of Nursing Practice in Rural and Remote Canada).

Citation: Stewart, N., D'Arcy, C., Pitblado, R., Forbes, D., Morgan, D., Remus, G., Smith,B., Kosteniuk, J., 2005. Report of the National Survey of Nursing Practice in Rural and Remote Canada. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan: University of Saskatchewan, Applied Research/Psychiatry and College of Nursing.

Copies of the report may be obtained from: Norma J. Stewart, PhD, RN, College of Nursing , University of Saskatchewan , 107 Wiggins Road, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 5E5. E-mail: norma.stewart@usask.ca

CASN Conference

The Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing will hold their 2005 National Nurse Educators' Conference entitled The Power of Education: Embracing Science and Compassion , November 23 - 26 at the Hilton Bonaventure, Montreal, QC. The impressive lineup of Speakers includes: Francine Saillant, Université Laval; Pamela Ironside, University of Wisconsin, Madison; Sandra MacDonald-Rencz, Acting Executive Director, Office of Nursing Policy; David Gregory, University of Manitoba; and Johanne Goudreau, Université de Montréal. For further information and registration, visit CASN's website at Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing.

International News

In May 2001, the World Health Assembly (WHA) passed resolution WHA54.12 on strengthening nursing and midwifery. Work has begun on a comprehensive progress report to be presented to the WHA in 2006 on the current status of nursing and midwifery in World Health Organization member states. Canada will be contributing information to the report.

As we take time on November 11 th to remember our colleagues who have lost their lives in the service of caring for others, the Office of Nursing Policy joins with the International Council of Nurses and the nurses of Canada in expressing concern for the many nurses who are working in war-torn circumstances. Our thoughts this month are especially directed to the five Bulgarian RNs and one Palestinian physician who have been sentenced to death in Libya. On November 15, the Libyan Supreme Court will have heard their final appeal.

Events of Interest:

ONP On Top of the World: Nunuvut Nursing Leadership Tour

(L-R Dr. Ginette Lemire Rodger, Barb Oke, Minister Leona Aglukkay, Dr. Vicki Greenslade, Lucille Auffrey, and Bernie Blais, Deputy Minister, Health and Social Services

The Office of Nursing Policy participated in a whirlwind tour of Nunavut`s Department of Health and Social services. Dr. Vicki Greenslade joined Barb Oke, of First Nations and Inuit Health Branch at Health Canada; Lucille Auffrey and Karen McCarthy of CNA; Dr. Ginette Lemire Rodger of the Ottawa Hospital; Faith Donald, Ryerson University; Dr Barbara Downe-Wamboldt, Dalhousie University; Barb Round of the Registered Nurses Association of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut (RNANT/NU); Barb Harvey, Community Health Consultant, Government of Nunavut; Stephen Leek, President Elect of RNANT/NU and Nurse in Pond Inlet; and Bernie Blais, Deputy Minister, Health and Social Services, Nunavut for a five-day tour that began early on Thanksgiving Day morning. They visited Health Centres in Iqualit, Igloolik, Taloyoak, Cambridge Bay, Rankin Inlet, and Coral Harbour. They met and spoke with the nurses working in the communities as well as RCMP Officers, community Mayors, and many of the elders who visited the Health Centres. They attended the opening of the new Health Centre in Cambridge Bay and met with Premier Paul Okalik, Health and Social Services Minister Leona Aglukkay, and Commissioner Hanson to discuss the many issues facing nursing in Nunavut. They also talked with the BScN nursing students who are completing their education at the Artic College in a collaborative partnership with Dalhousie University School of Nursing in Iqualit.

ONP on the Road

This is your opportunity to meet ONP staff. If you would like to meet the staff at ONP, look out for us at the following conferences and meetings:

• Western Nurse Leaders' Forum, Susan Hicks, November 23 - 25, Edmonton, AB.
• Internationally Educated Health Provider Collaborative Research Opportunities Meeting, Sandra MacDonald-Rencz, December 7, Vancouver.
• Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing, Sandra MacDonald-Rencz and Vicki Greenslade, November 23-26, Montreal, QC.
• Canadian Student Nurses Association Conference, Vicki Greenslade, January 9 - 14, 2006, St. John's, NL.
• National Conference on Physician HR - Task Force Two, Sandra MacDonald-Rencz, January 23, 2006.

Happy New Year from the Office of Nursing Policy!