RNAO Fall Tour: Feeling the pulse of Ontario nurses and acting on their priorities

As part of the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario’s (RNAO) 10th-annual Fall Tour, association leaders will continue to listen to nurses across the province and act on their priorities on nursing, health and health-care issues.

President NP Lhamo Dolkar, Immediate Past-President Dr. Claudette Holloway and CEO Dr. Doris Grinspun will hear from registered nurses (RN), nurse practitioners (NP) and nursing students in their respective communities either virtually or in person between Sept. 19 – Oct. 1.

“The Fall Tour provides nurses and nursing students with the opportunity to engage with their colleagues, share ideas and tackle issues related to their practice and the health system, as well as hear directly from the top leaders of their professional association,” says Dolkar. “Nurses have expertise and insights on how government health and social policies affect their day-to-day practice and the wellbeing of the people they serve.”

This year, nurses have been vocal about public health issues including supervised consumption services (SCS) and Ontario’s toxic drug crisis. “With the Ford’s government’s announcement to close 10 SCS sites, nurses are cautioning about its impact on the lives of people who use substances, health-care costs and emergency services,” says Grinspun. “Close to 3,800 people across Ontario died from an unregulated drug supply in 2023 alone, and the removal of an essential health-care service – SCS – will only do more harm and result in more lives lost.”

Nurses will also address the following issues:

• the misguided policy agenda leading to privatized health care, and the harms that will result from this, including higher costs and longer wait lists  
• the need for more NPs and NP-led clinics to address the primary care crisis that has left more than two million Ontarians without a regular primary care provider
• the outdated home care and community care services funding model
• the urgency to increase funding for long-term care to improve resident care and staffing ratios of RNs and NPs
• proper funding of hospitals, competitive pay, safe working conditions for nurses, and the need to increase full-time employment – to end Ontario’s reliance on agency work
• the need for Ontario to sign an agreement with the federal government to immediately implement universal pharmacare
• environmental determinants of health, including the climate emergency, the exploding rates of cancers linked to environmental pollution, ending the use of fossil fuels, and a public transit agenda to shift people from cars to sustainable means of transportation

These issues will be front and centre for RNAO in anticipation of both a federal and a provincial election in Ontario.

In addition, nurses will take time to speak about the successes over the past year, including the role expansion of RNs to prescribe a range of medications such as vaccines, contraceptives and smoking cessation aids; as well as funding to include more NPs in primary care and as medical directors in long-term care.

Nurses will undoubtedly celebrate how patients are benefitting from enhanced care through RNAO’s evidence-based Best Practice Guidelines Program, which is marking its 25-year anniversary.

As the professional association for over 52,000 RNs, NPs, and nursing students, RNAO values its members and advocate with and on their behalf. The association and its members are fully engaged in advancing equity, diversity and inclusivity, and continue to work on addressing racism and all other forms of discrimination within the profession, health system, and across society.

“We look forward to hearing from members about the broad range of issues and achievements that have had an impact on their lives as well as hear what can be done to better meet the needs of Ontarians. We invite all nurses and nursing students to join us during the Fall Tour and share their experiences with us,” says Holloway.

Details of RNAO’s Fall Tour:

• In-person and virtual: Windsor-Essex Chapter and the Community Health Nurses' Initiatives Group (CHNIG) – Sept. 19 from 7 to 9 p.m. ET - register online
• Virtual: Ontario Nurses for the Environment Interest Group – Sept. 23 from 7 to 9 p.m. ET - register online
• Virtual: International Nursing Interest Group (INIG), Durham Chapter, Kawartha-Victoria Chapter and Quinte Chapter – Sept. 24 from 6 to 8 p.m. ET - register online
• In-person and virtual: Wellington Chapter – Sept. 24 from 6 to 8 p.m. ET - register online
• Virtual: Waterloo Chapter – Sept. 25 from 6 to 8 p.m. ET - register online
• Virtual: Region 7 – Toronto East Chapter – Sept. 26 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. ET - register online
• Virtual: Algoma Chapter – Sept. 27 from 6 to 8 p.m. ET - register online
• In-person and virtual: Nursing Students of Ontario and Region 6 – Toronto West Chapter – Sept. 27 from 6 to 8 p.m. ET - register online
• Virtual: Black Nurses Leading Change – Oct. 1 from 6 to 8 p.m. ET - register online

Members of the media are welcome to attend.

The Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario (RNAO) is the professional association representing registered nurses, nurse practitioners and nursing students in Ontario. Since 1925, RNAO has advocated for healthy public policy, promoted excellence in nursing practice, increased nurses’ contribution to shaping the health system, and influenced decisions that affect nurses and the public we serve. For more information about RNAO, visit RNAO.ca or follow us on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.

- 30 -