Links for Nurses and Patients
College of Nurses of Ontario
The College of Nurses of Ontario is in place to protect the public and to regulate RN’s and RPN’s in Ontario. They enforce the standards of practice to ensure public safety. The organizations website, cno.org, provides a full list of documents including a complete listing of their standards and guidelines, which are all free to view and print. Cno.org also has all the up to date information such as legislation and regulation which is important for all nurses to be familiar with. The College of Nurses’ website designed both for the nurse and for members of the public. Anyone can search for a nurse that is practicing in Ontario, and anyone can view public records such as discipline hearings. All practicing nurses in Ontario should be frequenting this site regularly to keep current with the ever changing information provided by cno.org. http://www.cno.org
Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care
The Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care website offers the public information about services and programs, health services available in your area, health news, and access to printable forms. One of the services that the Ministry of Health and Long –Term Care (MOHLTC) offers the public is telehealth. Telehealth is a free telephone service that connects you confidentially with a registered nurse 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It is a very handy service that you can call when you are not sure whether your condition warrants a trip to the hospital or whether an appointment with your family doctor will do. I have personally used this service and found it helpful. The MOHLTC has a page on their website that offers news and information to health care providers. Other convenient services offered on their website are locating flu clinics, the ability to change the address on your health card online, and updating your organ donor status. So, to become an organ donor, or to see everything else the MOHLTC website has to offer, please visit http://www.health.gov.on.ca/en/.
Health Canada
The Health Canada website is a great source of information. It has a full list of safety alerts and product recalls. They have extensive information on nutrition including access to Canada’s food guide that you can either download and view, or order a copy that will be mailed to you. Another thing they offer that I thought would be very useful are tip sheets to getting and staying active. These tip sheets are printable and are age specific and include children (5-11), youth (12-17), adults (18-64), and older adults (65 & older). Health Canada also provides useful information regarding environmental and workplace health, including occupational health and safety, air quality, and environmental hazards. Other health and safety information that Heath Canada offers on their website is information on immunizations, emergency preparedness, health when your travelling, and a full listing of infectious diseases and chronic diseases. It is a website well worth the visit for current and up to date health information. http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca
Registered Practical Nurses Association of Ontario
The Registered Practical Nurses Association (RPNAO) is a professional organization that has been advocating for RPN’s for over fifty years. The RPNAO advocates for things such as respect in the workplace. They also offer educational programs for RPN’s such as a leadership course and a workplace violence prevention course. Their tagline is “one unified voice for registered practical nurses in Ontario”. The RPNAO has a lot to offer practical nursing students such as $20 student membership fees. Annually, the RPNAO award four students in Ontario their Education Trust Fund Bursary. I happened to be one of the lucky recipients for 2012 and for that I am very grateful. Another thing the RPNAO does for practical nursing students every year is present their Award for Student Excellence to one student in every college in Ontario. To find out about their mission and objectives, or to get more into on their awards, visit their website.
http://www.rpnao.org
http://www.rpnao.org
Registered Nurses Association of Ontario
Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association
Residential Hospice of Grey Bruce
Nurses are Angels
Sick Kids Hospital |