College of Nurses of Ontario Standards

Mohawk College has been given the mandate to prepare Practical Nurses. The Province of Ontario expects the College to graduate Practical Nurses who meet the standards that have been established for the profession. The College of Nurses Standards for Practice include continued competency, professional service to the public, current and relevant knowledge, application of this knowledge, professional behaviour, responsibility/accountability, and upholding ethical standards.

College of Nurses Professional Standards

The Professional Standards provide an overall framework for the practice of nursing. In addition to professional standards, the College of Nurses of Ontario provides practice standards for many aspects of the provision of care. It is each nurse’s responsibility, including students, to utilize these guidelines in their decision-making process (Visit CNO’s website for more information)

The College of Nurses Code of Conduct consists of six principles:

Practical Nurses function in an independent and interdependent environment. The majority of the time, the practitioner’s involvement at the care recipient’s side is of an independent nature, when direct supervision of an action is not possible. There is an implicit trust by the client that the Practical Nurse is an ethical, moral, and competent person.

As students preparing to become health care professionals, it is imperative that your behavior and attitudes reflect the professional, ethical standards that are embraced by your chosen profession. We believe that a value system incorporating high moral and ethical integrity is of vital importance, and regard the absence of such values as critical and dangerous to practice. We believe integrity to be a quality that includes sound moral principles, sincerity, honesty and self-respect.

The College of Nurses of Ontario Guidelines for Professional Behavior state:

“Nurses have a duty to participate in and promote the growth of the profession and to conduct themselves in a manner which is becoming to the profession.”

Nurses need to care for one another and respect their colleagues. They need to work collaboratively with other nurses, trust in the expertise of one another, and refer to others when they do not have the necessary knowledge and expertise themselves. 

A nurse needs to:

• Contribute to positive team functioning and supporting colleagues;
• Conduct oneself in a way which promotes respect for the profession;
• Cooperate with regulatory functions.

If a student’s behavior/conduct interferes with the learning process or in any way jeopardizes the safe environment of the classroom or clinical setting, the student will be required to leave the class or clinical session. Knowledge is scaffolded in the program with courses building on each other from semester to semester and by linking of information together between theory, lab and professional practice. It is therefore an expectation that students have certain level of retained knowledge as they move through the program and they use sound knowledge, skill, and judgement when engaging in practice of skills at clinical.

Inappropriate Behavior or unsafe practices may require the withdrawal of the student from the course prior to the end of the course. If the student is asked to leave by the agency the student will not be permitted to return and consequently, the student will receive a failing grade for the Professional Practice course (see Student Behaviour Policy).