Message from Beth Horsburgh, RN PhD (nursing), Interim Dean and Professor, College of Nursing, University of Saskatchewan

 In this troubling development, members expressed their dissatisfaction with the SRNA’s leadership role on behalf of Registered Nurses (RN) with respect to the evolving scope of practice of Licensed Practical Nurses (LPN) in Saskatchewan.

The College of Nursing at the University of Saskatchewan is a world leader in educating nurses in interprofessional health care, research, practice, innovation, capacity building and policy development.  Through nursing education and research over the last 75 years, we have contributed to the evolution of Registered Nurses and RN Nurse Practitioners in modern patient-centered health care systems.  Our students learn about and demonstrate interprofessional practice competencies, a principle that allows all health professionals to work collaboratively and to their respective full scopes of practice for improved patient outcomes.  In diverse research portfolios, our faculty develop evidence-informed knowledge that translates into innovative interprofessional practice.

As Registered Nurses and RN Nurse Practitioners take on increasingly demanding roles and responsibilities in the health care system, we recognize that healthcare is a dynamic and changing landscape. As such, it is vital that we constructively contribute to the development of other nursing disciplines who seek to embrace their own evolving scopes of practice. 

In order to successfully face the health challenges of the 21st century, nurses must be united in the social mission of the profession that is to care for people. Nurses cannot set aside the social mission to entertain divisions that will affect nursing and health care in Saskatchewan, as it will undermine the confidence that is entrusted to us by government and the public we serve.  All nurses, regardless of their professional affiliation, have a moral, ethical, and professional duty to provide men, women, children, families, and communities with quality competent professional and humanistic nursing care.   It is the only way to make "better health, better care, better services, and better teams" a true commitment and reality for the residents of Saskatchewan.

The College of Nursing at the University of Saskatchewan values integrity, social justice, unconditional positive regard and the achievement of potential.  Together with our nursing education colleagues at the University of Regina and Saskatchewan Polytechnic, we will put forward a motion calling upon the SRNA to establish and lead a taskforce to work with the SK Ministry of Health, the Saskatchewan Union of Nurses, the post-secondary nursing faculties/colleges, and other important stakeholders, to provide recommendations to fully actualize the scopes of practice of registered nurses and RN nurse practitioners in Saskatchewan; and develop evidence-based projections as to their future scopes of practice (roles/responsibilities) in Saskatchewan out to 2025.