Ontario Expanding the Role of Nurse Practitioners and Registered Nurses

November 28, 2024 – Link to announcement

Expanded scope of practice will make it faster and more convenient to connect to care

NPAO Position Statement on Ontario Expanding the Role of Nurse Practitioner and Registered Nurses

Starting July 1, 2025, Nurse Practitioners will be able to:

• Order and apply a defibrillator to provide faster care to someone in cardiac arrest.
• Order and apply a cardiac pacemaker to make it faster for people to receive care if their heart isn’t beating regularly.
• Order and perform electrocoagulation, a process to treat skin conditions and legions, such as skin tags, helping people get them removed sooner.
• Certify a death in more circumstances, improving the end-of-life experience for families after the death of a loved one.

Additionally, these scope of practice changes will allow registered nurses to certify a death when the death is expected, helping ensure death registration is completed in a more timely manner while preserving dignity of the deceased for their family.