A review of scopes of practice of health professions in Canada

The actual scope of practice of individual practitioners is influenced by the settings in which they practice, the requirements of the employer and the needs of their patients or clients. [...] In Ontario the regulatory function is the responsibility of the Colleges of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, the College of Nurses of Ontario, or the Ontario College of Pharmacists; BC uses a similar structure. [...] Most of the * In the field of nursing, while educational standards and entry-level competencies have changed, clinical competencies and the ability to work to their full scope have not, highlighting the difference between scope of practice (what the professional is trained to do) and scope of employment (what the professional does in the workplace). [...] However, as a precautionary statement, even the Manitoba legislation states in the preamble of the list of possible acts a physician can perform, “Without restricting the generality of the definition of practice of medicine…. [...] The College of Nurses of Ontario The CNO defines the scope of nursing practice as the promotion of health and the assessment of, the provision of care for and the treatment of health conditions by supportive, preventive, therapeutic, palliative and rehabilitative means in order to attain or maintain optimal function.