An Examination of Self-Employed Nursing Regulation in Three Canadian Provinces

The COVID-19 pandemic and its related stresses such as short-staffing, heavy workloads, and burnout are prompting nurses to re-consider institutional employment, bringing a renewed interest in self-employed nursing and its regulation. There is limited research on the regulation of self-employed nursing roles, and published work focuses on nurses' experiences rather than on regulatory practices themselves. This qualitative case study research aimed to examine the regulation of self-employed nurses by comparing the regulatory policies and processes of nursing regulatory bodies in Ontario, Alberta, and Saskatchewan. The findings demonstrated wide variation in the regulation of self-employed nurses across these jurisdictions. The article includes recommendations to clarify and harmonize the processes used to regulate self-employed nurses.

Automated summary

The COVID-19 pandemic has sparked interest in self-employed nursing and its regulation, with varying levels of regulation found among different jurisdictions. This study aimed to compare the policies and processes of nursing regulatory bodies in different regions to investigate the regulation of self-employed nurses.