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How We Govern
Established in 1917 by the Saskatchewan Legislative Assembly, the CRNS is governed by the CRNS Council. The CRNS is accountable for ensuring its members are competent in providing the services that society has entrusted to them.
Mission, Vision and Strategic End Points
Mission: To protect the public through regulatory excellence
Vision: Recognized as a leader in regulatory excellence
Our Strategic End Points fall into three main categories:
- Regulatory Excellence
- Accountable Professional Practice
- Partners in Health
CRNS Council
The CRNS Council oversees the development, approval, monitoring and review of governance policies.
The 13-member CRNS Council consists of nine members elected from the CRNS membership (including seven Members-At-Large from seven regions of the province, the President, and President-Elect), three government appointed public representatives and the association’s Executive Director (a non-elected, non-voting position). In addition to policy governance they propose new CRNS bylaws, including RN and NP competencies and standards, to the membership as well as the Minister of Health for approval and implementation.
Act & Bylaws
The CRNS is governed by the Registered Nurses Act, 1988, as well as bylaws approved by its members and Saskatchewan’s Minister of Health.
The Registered Nurses Act, 1988 stipulates the CRNS’s regulatory mandate including specifics on regulatory requirements for nursing program approval, investigations and discipline, licensure requirements, and more. The CRNS council translates the authority of the Act into bylaws, which must be approved by the membership at the Annual Meeting, and finally by the Minister of Health. These bylaws then appear in the Saskatchewan Gazette and become law.
Public Representation and Participation
The CRNS has a mission to serve in the best interest of the public and is committed to providing all members of the public the opportunity to be involved and hold positions that allow them to have an active voice in CRNS objectives.
Education Program Approval
The CRNS reviews and, if requirements are met, approves RN and NP nursing education programs at both graduate and undergraduate levels as one aspect of RN and NP licensure requirements.
The CRNS’s Nursing Education Program Approval Committee operationalizes standards for program approval to undertake periodic reviews of nursing programs at the University of Saskatchewan, the University of Regina, and Saskatchewan Polytechnic. These standards are derived from The Registered Nurses Act, 1988, CRNS bylaws, and other documents.
The committee also uses these standards, which are approved by CRNS members and the Minister of Health, to monitor and evaluate the province’s nursing education programs.