The
Health Professions and Occupations Act (HPOA) is new legislation approved in 2022, but not yet in force. It will replace the
Health Professions Act (HPA).
The HPOA requires all standards to be included in BCCNM bylaws. To prepare for this change, BCCNM is reviewing and reorganizing the Scope of Practice documents (the “Scope documents") for LPNs, RNs, and RPNs.
IMPORTANT: The standards, limits, and conditions will not change, and neither will your day-to-day practice. Only the format of the standards and where you find the information on the BCCNM website will be different.
As part of our consultation on this project, we have received a lot of very valuable feedback from LPNs, RNs, and RPNs across the province who practice in a variety of roles and settings. We appreciate your time and expertise!
We have heard that nurses and others find it challenging to find the information they need in the current Scope documents, because they are lengthy and complex. The intermingling of narrative content with standards, limits, and conditions is also confusing. These challenges will be addressed as part of this work.
This information page provides latest updates and resources relating to this project.
What are the scope documents?
- Components of the scope documents
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Currently, the scope documents have three main components:
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Scope of practice standards, such as
Acting within Autonomous Scope of Practice. These are standards, like any others that BCCNM sets (i.e., practice standards, professional standards).
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Limits and conditions. As it relates to scope of practice,
limits are what nurses are not permitted to do and
conditions are the circumstances under which nurses may carry out an activity.
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Narrative content explains the nursing regulations, the restricted activities for nurses that are outlined in the nursing regulations, and provides context for the standards, limits, and conditions.
Learn more about scope of practice for:
What is happening to the scope documents?
Currently LPN, RN, and RPN scope standards have several standards grouped together in one document (called the Scope of Practice document). We are transitioning these documents into distinct, stand-alone practice standards for LPNs, RNs, and RPNs. The standards, including their limits and conditions, will be available on the website.
The narrative content from the scope documents will be used to create learning resources to assist you in better understanding and applying the scope standards in your practice.
The standards, limits, and conditions will be reformatted, but the expectations in them
will not change.
- When will this happen?
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In early 2025, the BCCNM board will consider whether to rescind the LPN, RN, and RPN scope documents, and in their place approve the new practice standards.
If approved by the Board, these changes will likely take effect mid-2025.
- What do I need to do when this happens?
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Once the board has approved the changes, we will publish the (not-yet-in-effect) practice standards.
The standards, limits, and conditions will be available as both web content and PDFs. You may need to update your saved bookmarks.
We are also
developing learning resources to help you understand and apply the standards in your practice. This is a great opportunity for you to refresh your knowledge and fundamental understanding of scope of practice.
Want to keep up to date?
This page will be updated with latest information as it becomes available. You can also subscribe to receive updates by emailing
communications@bccnm.ca.