Affiliation:
1. Faculty of Health Disciplines, Athabasca University, Athabasca, Canada
Abstract
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.
Funder
Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Athabasca University
Canadian Nurses Foundation
Subject
General Medicine,Issues, ethics and legal aspects,Leadership and Management