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The Saskatchewan Registered Nurses Association changes name in move toward single mandate of regulation

By Leah Golob | The Registrar

In late October, the Saskatchewan Registered Nurses Association (SNRA) announced it would be changing its name to the College of Registered Nurses of Saskatchewan (CRNS) in hopes of making their mandate clearer to nurses and the public.

Previously, the SNRA, which has over 12,000 members, had a dual mandate of regulation and serving as an association, says Frankie Verville, nurse practitioner and president of the CRNS.

The CNRS wanted to clarify its role is to ensure that all individuals in Saskatchewan are receiving safe professional care that meets the standards of practice from registered nurses and nurse practitioners, Verville says. While the SNRA always acted in the interest of the public and worked to ensure public protection, the inclusion of “association” in the former name didn’t clearly convey the regulator’s goals. The regulator hopes that use of “college” will be clearer.

“In order to work toward advancing the profession in terms of influencing health and social policy, it became very clear that it was confusing to people. Not only to members of the public, but also to registered nurses and nurse practitioners themselves because ‘association’ was in the name. It just really muddled the waters a lot,” Verville says.

Now the CRNS has a sole mandate around regulation, and they’ve made room for a separate nursing association to take root in Saskatchewan.

Now the CRNS has a sole mandate around regulation, and they’ve made room for a separate nursing association to take root in Saskatchewan. Verville says one is currently in the works but doesn’t have an official name yet.

“It is so important for the public to understand what the college stands for.” They want the public to know how to approach the college and why they might want to approach the college if they have any concerns, she says.

In addition to a new name, the CRNS also has a new logo. The big “R” represents regulation and the “N,” which changes colours on the graphic version of the logo, stands for all the different types of nurses who have been working hard throughout the pandemic.

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