Consultation Overview
On January 2, 2025, NSCN is introducing the Entry-level Competencies for Nurse Practitioners (2022). As a result, the NSCN Board must amend By-Law Part VII, Section 26: Code of Ethics, Standards and Competencies to adopt the revised entry-level competencies in Nova Scotia.
A Steering Committee comprised of representatives from jurisdictions across Canada was commissioned to oversee the national initiative entitled Nurse Practitioner Regulations Framework Implementation Plan Project (NPR-FIPP). A key priority was to update the NP entry-level competencies (ELC) to drive future NP entry-level education.
The Steering Committee established an Education Sub-Committee in January 2021 to update the NP entry-level competencies, among other responsibilities.
The following activities were completed as part of this process:
- Environmental scan, literature review and consultation
- Jurisdiction Specific Stakeholder Consultation with SMEs from education, clinical practice, and regulation
- Regulatory review
- Validation survey
- Analysis of validation survey
- CCRNR approval
- Communication with key stakeholders
- Consultation on bylaw amendments
Consultation Participation & Response
The proposed By-laws were publicly available on our website during a 30-day period. All registrants, members of the public, and other stakeholders were invited to participate. Every registrant was invited to participate in the consultation via a direct email notice on February 8, 2023. Registrants also received a reminder through our e-newsletter on February 23, 2023, and on the NSCN social media channels, Facebook and Twitter, on February 9 and March 3.
Feedback was received from registrants and indicated support for the proposed amendment of the By-Laws.
Impact on the Project
Feedback was supportive of the By-law change and no revisions to the proposed By-Law was recommended. No feedback outside the scope of this work was identified.
Next Steps/Conclusion
NSCN shared this feedback with the NSCN Board for their consideration, prior to their vote on whether to approve the amendment of the By-Law.
At the April 20, 2023, Board meeting the Board approved the revised Entry-level Competencies for Nurse Practitioners (2022) and related bylaw amendment, to take effect January 2, 2025.
The effective date for the ELCs will be January 2, 2025, to give the schools of nursing time to incorporate the updated ELCs into their curriculum. This was a consistent approach across all Canadian jurisdictions.
