Profession-specific standards
The CNA Code and provincial colleges applied to consent, confidentiality, boundaries, end-of-life and maternity care, MAID, candour and remediation
Registered nurses, registered and licensed practical nurses, registered psychiatric nurses, nurse practitioners and midwives in Canada, including those responding to a complaint or college investigation.
Structured learning and a written reflection to show insight after a complaint, an investigation or a college inquiry.
Focused learning on a core standard of practice, with a certificate and reflection for your portfolio.
This course applies the core ethical principles and the Canadian Nurses Association Code of Ethics to nursing and midwifery practice in Canada. It explains how regulation works province by province, from the College of Nurses of Ontario and the College of Midwives of Ontario to the BC College of Nurses and Midwives, Alberta's separate nursing colleges and Quebec's ordres, and why reading your own college's standards matters as much as the national code.
It sets out the standards expected of nurses and midwives: honesty and integrity, confidentiality, competence and CPD, conflicts of interest, and boundaries in close, sustained and intimate care, together with what a college looks for when an ethical concern is raised. It then applies them to consent and shared decision-making, disclosure of errors, end-of-life care and MAID, maternity care and informed choice, and resource pressure and moral distress, with a checklist for working through an ethical dilemma.
The final sections cover common breaches, investigations, possible outcomes and their impact, including a worked case on a late medication entry, and how self-awareness, reflective practice, insight and remediation support public protection and professional growth. It suits all nurses and midwives, including those responding to a complaint.
7 sections · 28 lessons · 2 hours (estimated) · 10-question final assessment
Final assessment
10scenario-based questions
Certificate of completion
A certificate of completion for your learning portfolio.
The course includes a structured reflective account template: guided prompts to record what you learned, how you will apply it and how the change will show in your practice. It gives you written evidence of insight after a concern, and a ready record for your CPD portfolio.
Write it in your own words and leave out anything that could identify a patient, a colleague or a case. If you have an open complaint or case, talk to your adviser before reflecting on it in writing.
Registered nurses, registered practical and licensed practical nurses, registered psychiatric nurses, nurse practitioners and midwives in Canada. The course explains that the categories and the college that regulates each one depend on your province.
Section 1.4 gives examples: the College of Nurses of Ontario under the Nursing Act, 1991 with midwives regulated by the College of Midwives of Ontario; the BC College of Nurses and Midwives as a single college, now under the Health Professions and Occupations Act in force since April 2026; separate Alberta colleges under the Health Professions Act; and the Quebec ordres under the Professional Code.
Yes. Section 4.3 covers advance care plans, palliative care and the framework for Medical Assistance in Dying, in which nurse practitioners and registered nurses have defined roles, and conscientious objection within limits that ensure patients are not abandoned.
Yes. It covers informed choice, choice of birthplace, and the occasional tension between the birthing person's autonomy and fetal wellbeing, with a worked case about informed choice during a planned home birth with an Ontario midwife.
Section 3.6 explains that reviewers ask whether the public is protected now and in future, looking at what happened, your insight, whether it was isolated or a pattern, and what you have changed. A worked case about a late opioid entry shows why records must never be altered to hide a mistake.
It is designed to support reflection, insight and remediation after a concern, but your college decides what meets an order or undertaking, so confirm with your college. Nurses can also seek advice from the CNPS or their union or professional association.
There are knowledge checks in each section, a final assessment of 10 multiple-choice questions with an 80% pass mark, a reflective account and a certificate of completion. It is about 2 hours online and CA$95.
Every legal and regulatory point comes from primary sources: provincial and territorial health professions statutes, the regulatory colleges' standards and codes, and federal and provincial privacy law. Anything we cannot confirm is left out.
Lessons, scenarios and assessment questions are written by us for each edition separately, then checked for accuracy, teaching quality and fair assessment before publication.
When a code, standard or law changes, the affected courses are reviewed and updated. Reported errors in legal or regulatory facts are corrected first.
Professional standards for Canadian nurses and midwives: college codes, communication and SBAR, speaking up about unsafe orders, delegation, social media, gifts and candour.
Accurate, timely, objective and secure clinical documentation under Canadian college standards and privacy law, from consent and clinical reasoning to EMR risks, late entries and high-risk situations.
Being open when care goes wrong: when to disclose, what to say, how apology legislation protects you and how to record it.
