The Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario (RNAO) is honoured to receive
prestigious award from international nursing organization
The Practice Academe Innovation Collaboration award was presented to representatives of the Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario (RNAO), the joint RNAO/University of
This exciting collaboration started 10 years ago when RNAO began leading the development, dissemination and evaluation of best practice guidelines to improve patient care. "What was once a dream is now a fully fledged program serving nurses, their patients and health-care organizations," said Doris Grinspun, RNAO's executive director adding, "The association is thrilled to be recognized with such a prestigious award by STTI." According to Grinspun, substantive improvements in nursing practice and patient outcomes are evident with the use of these guidelines such as drastic decreases in pressure ulcers and falls.
Research and evaluation is integral to the program and the research unit was established by the RNAO and the University of
Irmajean Bajnok, RNAO director of the International Affairs and Best Practice Guidelines Program, emphasized the importance of the spotlight organizations as they are "critical partners of this collaboration. It is nurses and health-care organizations that bring these guidelines to life for patients locally, nationally and internationally."
To date this partnership has resulted in the development of 42 guidelines (clinical and healthy work environment), and others currently in development. They are available at no cost on the RNAO website. Many of the guidelines have been translated to French and other languages. Other implementation strategies include a network of over 3,500 nurses from over 600 health-care organizations who champion best practice guidelines. The website also contains numerous toolkits, e-learning modules and PDA versions of the guidelines which are accessible and available to nurses around the world.
The 21 Best Practices Spotlight Organizations are located in Ontario and
The Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario (RNAO) is the professional association representing registered nurses in Ontario. Since 1925, RNAO has advocated for healthy public policy, promoted excellence in nursing practice, increased nurses' contribution to shaping the health-care system, and influenced decisions that affect nurses and the public they serve.
RNAO's ambitious Best Practice Guidelines Program, funded by Ontario's Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, was launched in 1999 to provide the best available evidence for patient care across a wide spectrum of health-care areas. The 40 guidelines developed to date are a substantive contribution towards building excellence in Ontario's health-care system. They are available to nurses, other health care professionals and organizations across
The NBPRU is a unique collaboration between researchers and educators at the University of
For further information: or to interview a nurse, please contact: Suriya Veerappan, Media Relations Coordinator, Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario, Work phone: (416) 907-7956, Cell: (647) 504-4008, Toll-free: 1-800-268-7199 ext.253, E-mail: [email protected]; Thalie Tremblay, Manager, Communication and Marketing, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Ottawa, (613) 562-5800 ext 1916, Cell: (613) 797-5367, [email protected]
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