Aug. 1 is Emancipation Day. Today, RNAO encourages all Canadians to acknowledge the history of slavery in Canada, celebrate its abolishment, and reflect on the ongoing fight against anti-Black racism and discrimination. 

Professionals belong to their professional association. Be sure to let your nursing friends and colleagues know that RNAO’s three months free offer is back! If they join for the next membership year, the first three months are on us.

To activate the offer, new members must join for the next membership year at join.RNAO.ca or by calling 1-800-268-7199. All annual fees include professional liability protection (PLP) and taxes for RNs and NPs:

• regular: $256.36
• Ontario Nurses’ Association members: $175
• retired, on parental leave, or work 15 hours or less on average: $87.83

Valid until Oct. 31, 2024, membership includes PLP, full access to the award-winning RNJ, networking opportunities and many more member-exclusive benefits.

As you begin a new stage in your nursing journey, RNAO is offering free membership to all new graduates from undergraduate nursing programs thanks to the generosity of HUB International, RNAO’s home and auto insurance partner. Membership is valid until Oct. 31, 2024 and includes savings of up to $256.36. 

To upgrade your membership:

• email membership@RNAO.ca
• subject: Upgrade to New Grad Membership
• provide your month and year of graduation along with your College of Nurses of Ontario number (if you have it)

All new graduate memberships include RNAO’s professional liability protection – mandatory for nurses practising in Ontario – and many more benefits.

Download the flyer to learn more (also available in French). Non-members can sign up at join.RNAO.ca.

There’s a new, easier way to earn and track RNAO recruitment rewards! Now on your MyRNAO member dashboard is a unique referral link and QR code to share with prospective members.

With recruitment rewards, you can earn 20 RNAO dollars* for each new** RN or NP member you recruit, and 5 RNAO dollars for an undergraduate nursing student or internationally educated nurse associate. Recruit five new RN or NP members, and your next year’s membership is free.

There are now two new ways to share your referral code with prospective members:

• copy, paste and send the referral link in a text message or email to your nursing colleagues
• download the QR code to your cell phone, computer and/or tablet for others to scan with their mobile device in person
  

Both the link and the QR code will bring new members directly to join.RNAO.ca with your RNAO membership number automatically populated, making the recruitment process seamless.

What are you waiting for? Start sharing your referral link and earning rewards.

*RNAO dollars can be used towards your RNAO membership renewal or registration for any upcoming RNAO conference or event.

**New member is someone who has not been an RNAO member in the last two membership years.

Every two years, the International Council of Nurses (ICN) holds its global nursing congress for nurses from member countries to showcase their excellence. Co-hosted by the Canadian Nurses Association, this year’s ICN Congress took place in Montreal from July 1 – 5 and celebrated the theme: Nurses together: a force for global health.

As in previous years, RNAO and its Best Practice Spotlight Organization® (BPSO®) partners showcased their collective work and how they’re transforming nursing through knowledge. As featured on the RNAO at ICN website, there were more than 30 presentations by RNAO staff and BPSO partners addressing a range of topics, including the impact of BPG implementation, the opioid overdose crisis, digitized RNAO Clinical Pathways, ways to address anti-Black racism, a two-eyed seeing approach with Indigenous communities (learning from both strengths of Indigenous and Western ways of knowing), artificial intelligence, and more.

RNAO was featured in media stories this month about emergency room (ER) closures, surgery backlogs for children, the ongoing opioid overdose crisis and the wage increase for hospital nurses.

Was your membership recently upgraded to new grad? Add your College of Nurses of Ontario (CNO) number to your MyRNAO profile so that your professional liability protection becomes active.

The CNO requires all practising nurses to have at least $2 million in PLP coverage. RNAO's PLP provides you with coverage of up to $10 million. 

If you’re looking for peace of mind, you can also add RNAO’s Legal Assistance Program (LAP®) to your membership through MyRNAO. Among other things, LAP provides assistance with CNO complaints and wrongful dismissal. You can also contact RNAO’s membership and services team at membership@RNAO.ca or by calling 1-800-268-7199.

The Fall Tour is coming soon. Would you like to meet RNAO's president, president-elect, or CEO? Consider hosting a Fall Tour visit with your chapter, region without chapter or interest group

Have questions? Email Victoria Alarcon at valarcon@RNAO.ca and Michelle Rangel at mrangel@RNAO.ca. 

Stay tuned for more details. 

Released at RNAO’s 98th Annual General Meeting, this year’s annual report provides a dynamic overview of your professional association’s work and impact over the past year, which wouldn’t have been possible without you – its members.

This year's annual report highlights RNAO’s work in two key areas: unity and action. Each area explores how its members contribute to healthy public policy work and help inform its evidence-based best practice guidelines program, including the global network of Best Practice Spotlight Organizations®. 

Download and read the annual report, and look out for photos of yourself and fellow nursing colleagues.

The Advanced Clinical Practice Fellowship (ACPF) program provides RNs and NPs with the opportunity to develop their skills, knowledge and expertise while advancing a project that will meet a need within their organization. This funded opportunity includes support from RNAO, a mentor and the fellow’s organization.

The ACPF program has introduced four new streams:

• Leading change in evidence-based practice
• Equity in nursing and health (including Indigenous health, anti-Black racism and 2SLGBTQI+ health)
• Health and wellbeing
• Long-term care

Learn more at the Aug. 10 webinar – register online.

The deadline to submit your proposal for the final round of 2023 – 2024 ACPFs is Sept. 8, 2023. Fellowships will run from Oct. 23, 2023 – Feb. 1, 2024.

Ontario organizations now have the opportunity to join an international community dedicated to making a positive impact on patient/resident care and academic education through evidence-based practice. RNAO is pleased to announce the anticipated release of two request-for-proposals (RFP) on Aug. 9, 2023 for health service/academic institutions and long-term care homes interested in becoming a Best Practice Spotlight Organization® (BPSO®).

Information webinars will be held in August 2023:

• Aug. 23, 11 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. ET: Register online
• Aug. 24, 2 - 3 p.m. ET (for long-term care homes): Register online

To stay updated on the release of the upcoming RNAO BPSO RFP, please sign up online.

RNAO and its Waterloo Chapter have created a petition calling for fair and equitable compensation for nurses for all members to sign and circulate. Once enough signatures are gathered, MPP for Waterloo Catherine Fife will deliver it to Ontario’s legislative assembly to facilitate action.

Please download and print the petition and ask for signatures from your peers, coworkers, family and neighbours in support of fair and equitable wages for nurses.

Once you’ve collected signatures, please email the petition to health policy coordinator Ann-Marie Morris at amorris@RNAO.ca.

On July 10, RNAO sent its submission to Ontario’s Ministry of Health on regulations related to Bill 60, Your Health Act, 2023 – far-reaching legislation that invites more for-profit, investor-driven health care. RNAO’s response to the ministry’s regulatory proposals is shaped by the gap between Bill 60 and the association’s vision for the province’s health system.

In its submission, RNAO says through the expansion of for-profit delivery of health care, Bill 60 will:

• lead to poorer health outcomes, higher costs and less overall access to health-care services
• deepen the nursing crisis
• undermine the longstanding health professions regulatory framework established to protect the public
• delegate essential components about the delivery of health-care services to unnamed and unelected officials

The regulations failed to address concerns about Bill 60’s profit incentives for Ontario’s health-care system.

RNAO’s Action Alerts help highlight key issues that affect nursing and health. Take time to learn about the issues and add your voice so elected officials make the changes nurses need to see.

Sign and share the following Action Alerts:

• Stop the move to for-profit health care, premier!
• Keep health-care coverage for the uninsured, premier!
• Hands off the Greenbelt, premier!
• End the overdose crisis, premier
• Be an ally to Black nurses and inspire system change

Every signature helps to mobilize change where it’s due. Encourage your family, friends and colleagues to take action too.

Join this webinar to learn about the new edition of the Transition in Care and Services best practice guideline (BPG) and how it can support the success of Ontario Health Teams (OHT).

During the session, presenters will:

• provide an overview of OHT goals related to care transitions
• outline key components of the BPG
• learn how one Best Practice Spotlight Organization Program® OHT is implementing the BPG
• outline the free supports available for OHTs

Members of OHTs, professionals from all sectors and roles, interprofessional colleagues, and any individual interested in advancing best practices across OHTs are welcome to join this event at no cost.  

RNAO’s Mental Health and Substance Use Program invites you to attend two more webinars in its harm reduction series. This time, the focus is on implementation of safer supply. The webinars are developed by RNAO in partnership with its Mental Health Nurses Interest Group and Community Health Nurses’ Initiatives Group, as well as the Harm Reduction Nurses Association, Moms Stop the Harm and the National Safer Supply Community of Practice.

The two upcoming webinars include:

• Prescribed Safer Supply: Background and Busting Myths: Aug. 15, 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. ET – REGISTER NOW
• Understanding the impact: Safer Supply Program Models and Nursing Practice: Aug. 22, 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. ET – REGISTER NOW

Join both upcoming webinars to learn about the evidence around safer supply programs as part of a harm reduction approach to care, as well as to analyze nurses’ roles in this work.

Join your NP colleagues heading to the RNAO/NPIG NP Knowledge Exchange Symposium on Nov. 14, 2023.

Come for the stellar knowledge-based program, NP informed tips and tools to enhance your practice, advocacy strategies and opportunities to advance the NP role, dramatic release of a campaign to spotlight NPs as the solution, and celebration of National NP week, 2023. Leave inspired, informed and connected! Coming soon: Program details and registration – stay tuned.         

Are you active on Twitter? RNAO encourages all nurses to visit Twitter regularly and engage in discussions related to nursing and health.

In July, members shared the following tweets:

• NP Alanna Coleman calls on the Ontario government to act on the multiple proposals submitted for NP-led clinics.
• Past-president Dr. Angela Cooper Brathwaite tells the premier more nurses are needed to reduce burnout and stress-related diseases in the profession
• RNAO’s Region 11 board representative RN Maxine Lesage shares facts about Best Practise Spotlight Organizations
• RN Kathy Moreland shares a message on International Self Care Day (July 24)
• BScN student Tania Lafleur highlights the importance of mentorship

Tag @RNAO in your tweets for a chance to be featured in the next In the Loop.

RNAO is proud of nurses who speak with reporters about topics related to their practice and health care. It’s important that nurses’ voices from across all domains and settings are heard to help educate the public, elected officials and other decision-makers.

The following recent media stories feature RNAO members:

• Janet Hunt and Karima Cassidy, CTV News London: Registered nurses push for wage parity in annual ‘Take Your MPP To Work’ event
• Cathy Crowe, Toronto Star: Olivia Chow should lead a ‘disaster tour’ of community housing and shelters
• Wendy Risch, InsideOttawayValley.com: ‘Incredible patient advocate’: Arnprior nurse Shirley McGonigal honoured with memorial bench
• Mariah Zalitach, Mid-North Monitor: Cornies: Long COVID sufferers are pandemic's hidden casualties

Interested in speaking with reporters? Complete a short survey on MyRNAO to add your name to RNAO’s media directory. Once completed, a member of RNAO’s communications team will be in touch to provide guidance and notify you with media opportunities.

Are you looking for a nursing position or need to fill a vacant role? RNCareers.ca is here for you.

RNCareers specializes in all levels of nursing including clinical, non-clinical, staff nurse, management, executive and administrative roles for NPs, RNs, RPNs, PSWs and other health professionals across all health sectors.

Job seekers: create a free account, upload your resume, activate job alerts and land your dream job by visiting RNCareers.ca.

Employers: post job opportunities, access RNAO’s exclusive resume database with thousands of health-care professionals and get top quality applicants with automated pre-screening.

Join RNAO’s team! Employment at RNAO offer impactful work and excellent benefits including: health and dental, gym, top-up for mat leave, professional development, HOOPP membership, and more. 

Consider applying for one of the following positions:

• Implementation specialist (RNAO Clinical Pathways)
• Research associate
• Long-term care best practice coordinator