Who We Are
CNA is the national professional voice of registered nurses in Canada. A federation of 11 provincial and territorial nursing associations and colleges representing 146,788 registered nurses, CNA advances the practice and profession of nursing to improve health outcomes and strengthen Canada’s publicly funded, not-for-profit health system.
CNA speaks for Canadian registered nurses and represents Canadian nursing to other organizations and to governments, nationally and internationally. It gives registered nurses a strong national association through which they can support each other and speak with a powerful, unified voice. It provides registered nurses with a core staff of nursing and health policy consultants and experts in other areas such as communication and testing. CNA provides the exam by which all registered nurses, except in Quebec, are tested to ensure they meet an acceptable level of competence before beginning practice. CNA’s active role in legislative policy influences the health-care decisions that affect nursing professionals every day. It has published a large number of documents, including the Code of Ethics for Registered Nurses.
CNA’s vision, mission and goals are aimed at serving Canada’s RNs. CNA’s core leadership comes from its two nursing-led divisions.
Policy and Leadership: This division is the lead for CNA’s efforts to advance nursing, health and health system policy. To accomplish this, it establishes strategic working relations with various levels of government, both in Canada and internationally. This division also supports nursing leadership through governance and health system initiatives, including CNA’s longstanding global health partnerships program. In addition, it engages in knowledge translation activities to advance evidence-informed policy and leadership.
Professional Practice and Regulation: This division provides a variety of supports to optimize the role of registered nurses, including nurse practitioners and clinical nurse specialists. The division articulates the voice of nursing on many current practice issues and maintains and promotes the Code of Ethics for Registered Nurses. It connects nurses with each other and with experts through a growing range of services on CNA’s portal, NurseONE. The division also oversees the Canadian Registered Nurse Examination, Canadian Nurse Practitioner Examinations, and the CNA Certification Program.
These two divisions receive direct support from Communications and Member Outreach, and Information Technology Services.
Updated: November 23, 2011
