St. Lawrence College (SLC) is launching new training for registered nurses that will allow them to start prescribing medications.
The move follows changes announced by the Ontario government earlier this year expanding registered nurses’ scope of practice to include prescribing certain medications such as birth control and drugs for smoking cessation.
“Nurses are incredibly skilled and play an integral role in supporting the good health and ongoing care of Ontarians,” said SLC president and CEO, Glenn Vollebregt, in a release Friday. “We are proud to have been educating nurses and other healthcare professionals for over fifty years and this training is another example of how colleges respond to ensure training meets the needs of the workforce and communities.”
Under the new provincial rules registered nurses who complete training like that now offered through SLC will be able to prescribe birth control, smoking cessation drugs, travel medications to treat and prevent malaria and traveller’s diarrhea, and topical wound care.
St. Lawrence College is part of a consortium of seven Ontario colleges chosen to deliver the Ontario Graduate Certificate program across southeastern and northwestern Ontario.
The college will deliver the training through its continuing education online platform, with courses starting in January.
“In consultation with partners and using evidence from other jurisdictions to align with legislation; the Registered Nurse-Prescribing program was developed to meet the needs of Ontarians in a safe in efficient way,” said Dr. Barb LeBlanc, SLC’s Dean, Health and Wellness, said in the release.
“The comprehensive educational program will preserve patient safety while training RNs, who are authorized, to prescribe medications identified for certain conditions by the Nursing Act.”
Applicants must be registered nurses who are currently registered with the College of Nurses of Ontario without restrictions, with two years of full-time experience (or equivalent).
More information is available on the college’s website.
— With files from the Canadian Press
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