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CLPNA continues to serve on the Minister’s Advisory Committee on Primary Health Care. The committee advises the Minister of Health on a range of primary health care initiatives, including an evaluation of the three Family Care Clinic pilot sites and the further development of the Family Care Clinic model. Alberta Ministry of Health is finalizing a Primary Health Care Strategy that outlines a vision for the system: A primary health care system that supports all Albertans to be as healthy as they can be. The vision is guided by principles that include: person-centred, accessible, proactive, collaborative, continuity of care, quality, sustainable, and accountable. CLPNA supports this transformational strategy and sees a logical and practical position for LPNs within primary health care teams.

The Alberta Practical Nurse Education Programs Committee, hosted and co-chaired by CLPNA, meets quarterly to share information and identify opportunities and actions to influence on-going delivery of practical nurse programs and related education and practice policies in Alberta. Members include practical nurse programs, government, and employers, and key areas of sharing and discussion in 2013 included: clinical placements and use of the Health Sciences Placement network (HSPnet), an AHS web-based tracking tool for coordinating & streamlining placements for clinical practice education; AHS new graduate nurse transition support; AHS medication reconciliation implementation; education budget and implications for nursing education funding; and an exam item writing workshop sponsored by CLPNA and facilitated by Assessment Strategies Incorporated (ASI).

CLPNA consults regularly with Alberta Health Services (AHS), the largest employer of LPNs in Alberta, on issues related to nursing and health care delivery. CLPNA was involved in several key AHS initiatives in 2013 including the Provincial Nursing Professional Practice Council; Workforce Model Transformation Evaluation Council (WMT); and surveys related to reprocessing medical devices and bilingual health resources.

CLPNA also participates in the Alberta Federation of Regulated Health Professionals and subcommittees related to the complaints process and continuing competency. The Federation is a group of 25 health regulatory Colleges with the same mandate, “to regulate our respective professions in the public interest”, and who work together to advance healthcare regulation, and provide direction, expertise and leadership on health and related public policy.

Other CLPNA collaborations in 2013 include those with Covenant Health, the Alberta Continuing Care Association (ACCA), CapitalCare, Alberta Nursing Education Administrators (ANEA), and the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE).

As part of the Strategic Planning process for the CLPNA, our Council hosted a Think Tank on December 5. The purpose of the Think Tank was to explore current trends, forecast the future, and identify anticipated health care needs of the population, and the corresponding impact on the requisite skills of the care provider over the next 15 to 20 years. Participants included Licensed Practical Nurses, government, key employers including AHS, Covenant Health, continuing care and homecare providers, the Alberta Continuing Care Association, key representatives from the ten Practical Nurse programs, the Education Standards Advisory Committee, and CLPNA Council and senior staff. This Think Tank followed a Public Consultation Process the Council conducted at various sites throughout the province to listen to Albertans’ thoughts about their health care needs and their expectations of the Licensed Practical Nurse profession. The CLPNA’s ten-year strategic plan and three-year business plan, including goals and priority initiatives will undergo member consultation prior to public release in 2014.

Canadian Council for Practical Nurse Regulators (CCPNR)

The CCPNR is a federation of regulators responsible for the profession of practical nursing in their jurisdiction, and provides a collective voice on matters affecting practical nurse regulation. The focus of CCPNR is promotion of regulatory excellence and continued harmonization of the LPN profession within member jurisdictions.

CLPNA was co-chair and fund holder for the CCPNR’s Inter-jurisdictional Licensed Practical Nurse Project (IJLPN) from 2011-2013, funded by Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC). This pan-Canadian project resulted in four new documents: a Code of Ethics; Standards of Practice; Entry to Practice Competency Statement for LPNs; and Requisite Skills and Abilities for LPNs. Through the Alberta consultation process mandated by the Health Professions Act, the pan-Canadian Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice were strengthened. CLPNA adopted all four documents in June 2013 and circulated them widely to LPNs, educators, and stakeholders.

The revised Staff Mix Decision-making Framework for Quality Nursing Care released in 2012 now has an accompanying Position Statement. CLPNA represented the Canadian Council for Practical Nurse Regulators (CCPNR) on the original steering committee and working group for this project, and also on the development of the Position Statement, which has been approved by CCPNR, the Canadian Nurses Association (CNA), and the Registered Psychiatric Nurses of Canada (RPNC). The Position Statement will be available in early 2014. The Framework project was funded by HRSDC and led by CNA.

National Nursing Assessment Service (NNAS)

CLPNA continues to work with other LPN, RN, and RPN nursing regulators across Canada on development and implementation of the National Nursing Assessment Service (NNAS). The purpose of the NNAS is to collectively develop a harmonized approach to the initial assessment of internationally-educated nurses. To ensure public safety, goals include greater transparency, timeliness and predictability across Canadian jurisdictions, as well as rigorous standards for qualification assessment. CLPNA is a member of the corporation and holds one of four LPN Director Positions on the Board.

National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN)

NCSBN is a U.S. based organization “through which boards of nursing act and counsel together on matters of common interest and concern”. All 60 U.S. nursing regulatory boards are members of the NCSBN and several Canadian and international nursing regulatory boards belong as associate members. CLPNA continues to be an active associate member of NCSBN, involved in discussions about common issues facing nursing regulators, and participated in the Executive Officer Summit in June 2013.