1-800-267-3390It’s National Nurse Practitioner Week! During this time – from Nov. 8th to the 14th, we salute Nurse Practitioners (NPs) across the country, including the nearly 10,000 NPs who are CNPS beneficiaries. We thank you for the important work you do and the many ways in which you support patients every day!
Did you know that the Canadian Nurses Protective Society (CNPS) is a comprehensive legal resource for NPs? From broad Professional Liability Protection (PLP), to NP practice-focused webinars, to on-demand legal advice at no additional cost, the CNPS is dedicated to supporting you in all stages and emerging situations of your nursing practice. You can learn more about the ways in which we support our NP beneficiaries below:
NP Series:
New this year, CNPS launched a five-part webinar series focusing on topics relevant to NP practice such as Setting Up Your Independent Practice, Lab Requests and Follow-Up, Differential Diagnosis, and Consults and Referrals. The first run of this special NP-focused webinar series will conclude on December 8th with Informed Discharge. You can learn more about this special series and register for the final webinar here: cnps.ca/education/np-series/
Professional Liability Protection and other Core Services:
This is the CNPS’ flagship suite of services, which offers one of the broadest scopes of Professional Liability Protection (PLP) in Canada, but perhaps more importantly for a busy NP – unlimited, in-house legal advice. As a CNPS beneficiary, we remind our NPs that you can call us at any time to request confidential legal advice from a CNPS Legal Advisor experienced in nursing or Health Law should you have a concern related to your practice. Part of CNPS’ Core Services, this advice can include information about professional obligations and professional liability issues as well as the explanation of legal steps to take and actions to avoid when an incident has occurred. Also, this valuable advice is offered to CNPS beneficiaries at no additional cost. You can review the additional benefits of CNPS PLP and other Core Services here: cnps.ca/services/plp-core/
The Supplementary Protection program:
As a reminder, if you are a CNPS PLP and other Core Services beneficiary, you have the option to apply for CNPS’ Supplementary Protection program, which expands the circumstances in which you can request assistance from the CNPS with a complaint made to your Nursing Regulator (College or Association). CNPS Supplementary Protection is a national program that follows you to every jurisdiction. You can learn more about Supplementary Protection here: cnps.ca/services/regulatory-complaints/
Nursing Business Solutions (BMS):
As you know, nurses can be personally named as defendants in a legal proceeding by patients who allege they have suffered harm as a result of nursing care. A clinic or business entity within which health care services are provided can also be named as a defendant in a civil proceeding. If you are a nurse operating in independent practice, it would be generally advisable for your business to carry separate protection. Nursing Business Solutions (by BMS) was structured to address those needs.
The Nursing Business Solutions Program is brokered by BMS and is a complementary service to CNPS’ flagship PLP and other Core Services. Its terms were negotiated by the CNPS on behalf of its nurse beneficiaries, specifically acknowledging the many unique circumstances nurses and their businesses can face. This program is exclusively available to CNPS beneficiaries and is designed to provide insurance to CNPS beneficiaries who work as independent nursing contractors, employ other nurses, or who provide nursing services through a corporation, partnership, sole proprietorship, or other business entity. You can learn more about the program here.
Together, all of these CNPS pieces provide NPs across Canada with a comprehensive, dynamic legal solution that supports you, enabling you to provide care confidently in every stage of your practice. While we cannot provide a solution to every problem an NP might face, the CNPS can assist in a wide range of unexpected circumstances where your professional integrity may be threatened or where legal support is needed to address a patient safety concern. We know that as an NP, you are always there for your patients. CNPS is here to support you in navigating the complexities of modern nursing practice. Happy National Nurse Practitioner Week!
