Are you looking for more meaning in your nursing career? Do you want more of a work/life balance? Do you want more control over your daily schedule? If you have answered yes to any of these questions, perhaps it's time for you to take a look at options such as a sole proprietor of your own business. IBSIG can help you begin your new life.
The best way to start is by getting connected to the Professional Practice Team at WeRPN, who offers support in building leadership skills and key education elements. Where can you take your practice?
WeRPN Professional Practice – What do we do?
The WeRPN Professional Practice team is dedicated to directly supporting Ontario RPNs, receiving thousands of inquiries from across the province related to professional practice issues, role clarity and career development. RPNs are encouraged to contact a WeRPN professional practice associate to learn more about our offerings on a variety of topics, including career development, starting your own practice and professional liability protection, to list a few.
WeRPN’s mission is to break the walls down, build the person up, and bring people together to improve patient care. We do this by advancing expertise, driving evidence, advocacy and influence-building, and innovative growth. The Professional Practice team supports all of these activities to further the Association’s strategic objectives.
WeRPN’s Professional Practice team is comprised of nurses with diverse practice experience who, through their collective expertise, are able to support RPNs and our members.
In order to advance expertise, the Professional Practice team creates educational resources and facilitates learning opportunities for RPNs and other healthcare providers. There are a number of courses that are available through our website werpn.com. A recent addition to our course catalogue is a new Infection Prevention and Control (IPAC) program., We offer a signature program on Leadership to help RPNs develop their leadership skills. WeRPN also offers other educational resources such as self-learning modules for Workplace Violence, De-Escalation, and exam preparation material for students about to write the new RexPN. The team continues to work on expanding our catalogue of education offerings on an annual basis. The team manages and supports WeRPN’s mentorship and career direction programs that provide members with guidance and coaching to achieve their goals within the nursing profession. There are several services members can access with these programs, such as resume review, mock interview practice and a career coaching session with the Professional Practice team.
To achieve advocacy and influence-building, the Professional Practice team is involved in a variety of provincial committees that support advancing the RPN role, workplace violence prevention, the Nurses Health Program, RNFOO (Registered Nurse’s Foundation of Ontario) and a variety of college Professional Advisory Committees (PAC).
The Professional Practice team aims to engage with organizations and students through their colleges to inform them about WeRPN’s professional practice supports and professional development opportunities, including workshops for new graduates to support their transition to practice.
WeRPN’s role clarity workshops for nurses and organizations are focused on enhancing collaboration and understanding of the role of the RPN. These events provide tools and knowledge to support the integration of new RPN roles in practice and to support better consolation and collaboration between categories of nurses.
The Professional Practice team is committed to driving evidence and recently developed a WeRPN Research Advisory Council. RPNs are under-represented in research, and yet RPNs are the second-largest regulated healthcare group in the province. WeRPN is actively involved in supporting research initiatives and strives to include RPNs through research fellowships.
With thanks from creator Francine Georgopoulos and contributors Jacquelyn MacKnight, IBSIG MAL, past VP and Catherine Arnott, IBSIG President
