Recap: 23rd annual Queen’s Park Day, assembly meeting and new report recap

On March 2, RNAO’s leadership and assembly members met with MPPs at Queen’s Park for the association’s 23rd annual Queen’s Park Day (QPD) – the first in-person event since 2020!

Through a series of breakfast meetings with MPPs, and an afternoon Q&A session with Ontario’s health minister, minister of long-term care (LTC), and leaders of the NDP, Liberal and Green parties, nurses had the opportunity to voice their concerns about nursing and health, and offer solutions. Some of the topics discussed included the RN understaffing crisis, the opioid overdose crisis, the need for additional NP-led clinics across Ontario, mentorship programs and more.

During his remarks, Minister of LTC Paul Calandra announced that the government will support the expansion of RNAO’s BPG Clinical Pathways to be used in LTC homes across the province – great news for staff and residents! Health Minister Sylvia Jones also noted the government is looking to act on RN prescribing in the near future, which RNAO has advocated for since 2012.

For coverage of QPD, read RNAO’s Twitter thread and watch the livestream from the afternoon session.

Earlier in the day, President Dr. Claudette Holloway and CEO Dr. Doris Grinspun released the Nursing Career Pathways report at a media conference moderated by Morgan Hoffarth, immediate past-president.

The report illustrates the many education and career opportunities within the nursing profession, and outlines how nurses play a central role when it comes to the health of Ontarians. It also details the barriers that stand in the way of a thriving profession and how to ensure the retention and recruitment of nurses with a set of wide-ranging recommendations.

If you missed the media conference, watch it on YouTube or read the live Twitter thread for a recap with photos.

The day after QPD, RNAO held its assembly meeting with chapter presidents, interest group chairs, policy and political action and communications executive network officers. The full-day event featured a presentation about the Mental Health and Substance Use Best Practices Program In Focus web page. RNAO’s communications and policy teams shared their Nursing Career Pathways: Policy to advocacy presentation to outline ways members can get engage other members, reporters and politicians leading up to Nursing Week (May 8 – 14, 2023). Using RNAO’s electronic toolkit, members can identify nursing colleagues to participate in profiles and host Take Your MPP To Work visits. Later in the day, members shared updates from their groups during the members’ voices session.

Thank you to all of the members who attended the events or tuned in.