The Comprehensive Nursing Topics Guide for BScN & BSN Programs

Released July 14, 2025, the CNA Code of Ethics for Nurses replaced the 2017 code. It is the first edition co-created with all regulated nurse categories, and addresses MAID, harm reduction, digital health and reconciliation. It has seven values:

Released January 29, 2025, the revision keeps the nine provisions and adds a tenth on global nursing and health. It names racism as a public health crisis and says self-care and patient care are "inseparable".

• Provision 1: compassion and respect for the dignity of every person
• Provision 2: primary commitment to the recipients of nursing care
• Provision 3: advocating for patients' rights, health and safety
• Provision 5: duties to self, including a safe place to work

Consent must relate to the treatment, be informed, be voluntary, and not be obtained through misrepresentation or fraud. "Informed" means the person has the information a reasonable person would need: nature, benefits, material risks, side effects, alternatives and consequences of refusing. Capacity is treatment-specific, and consent can be withdrawn.

• The Next Generation NCLEX launched April 1, 2023, built on a clinical judgment model
• The 2026 test plan sets 85 to 150 items within five hours
• Canada has used the NCLEX-RN since 2015, except Quebec (OIIQ exam)
• 2025 first-time pass rates: 86.7% for US-educated and 86.0% for Canadian-educated candidates

• Ontario RNs could be authorized to prescribe from February 2024; more than 1,000 by July 2026
• Ontario expanded NP and RN roles from July 1, 2025
• CNO moves to a single NP class from July 1, 2026
• US: 27 states plus DC give NPs full practice authority (AANP)

• McMaster: GPA 80%, Casper 20%
• Queen's: Kira written and video responses
• Calgary: lottery from Fall 2026
• US: NursingCAS lists 282 schools; graduate-entry programs more often interview

Statistics Canada reported 17,275 RN vacancies in Q2 2026, down from a peak of 30,300 in Q3 2023. NCSBN found about 138,000 US nurses left and 469,000 retired between 2022 and 2024. BC is the first Canadian jurisdiction with minimum nurse-to-patient ratios; California has had ratios since 2004.

Canada's 2021 Criminal Code amendments made offences against health workers an aggravating factor and created an offence of intimidating health workers. In the US, health care and social assistance had 72.8% of private-industry workplace-violence cases with days away or restriction in 2021–22.

IENs were 16.8% of Canada's RN supply in 2025 and 32.5% of new Ontario registrants. NNAS assesses credentials everywhere except Quebec and the territories.

TRC Call to Action 24 calls on nursing schools to require a course on Indigenous health, including skills in intercultural competency and anti-racism. Joyce Echaquan died in hospital in 2020; the coroner found racism a contributing factor.

Bill 124 capped public-sector raises at 1% a year for three years. Ontario's Court of Appeal found it unconstitutional for unionized workers in February 2024, and it was repealed on February 23, 2024.

Nurses staff supervised consumption sites, and the CNA 2025 Code addresses harm reduction. For MAID, only NPs and physicians may provide it; RNs and RPNs may assist, and conscience is recognized. Eligibility where mental illness is the sole condition is delayed to March 17, 2027.

Giving medication without the patient's knowledge undermines consent, which must not be obtained through misrepresentation. Explore the refusal, assess capacity, involve the team and any substitute decision-maker, and follow policy.

CNO requires nurses to minimize harm from errors and report errors, near misses and adverse reactions in a timely way. The Code of Conduct asks nurses to take accountability for their errors.

Objections must be based on religion or conscience, not fear, prejudice or convenience, and must not impede access; nurses facilitate an effective referral. Nurses cannot abandon clients, but aren't expected to risk their lives in unsafe environments.

The NCSBN-ANA National Guidelines for Nursing Delegation (2019) set out five rights:

• Right task
• Right circumstance
• Right person
• Right directions and communication
• Right supervision and evaluation

CNO: AI "does not replace a nurse's knowledge, skill and judgment. Nurses are ultimately responsible for the decisions they make."