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 Priorities
Mission: To protect the public through the regulation of Registered Nurses and Nurse Practitioners
Vision: Trusted by the public as a leader in regulatory excellence
Our strategic priorities fall into 4 main categories:
- Strengthen Accountable Professional Practice
- Enhance Regulatory Excellence
- Enhance Public and Partner Engagement
- Strengthen Organizational Excellence
CRNS Council
The CRNS Council oversees the business and affairs of CRNS, supervises its Management and gains reasonable assurance that all major issues affecting CRNS are given appropriate attention. It is accountable to the public to establish procedures for good corporate governance and to achieve CRNS’s mission/vision/mandate.
The Council provides an effective means of accountability for CRNS in matters of moral conduct, legal operation, financial controls and reporting of CRNS's results.
The 11-member CRNS Council consists of seven CRNS registrants and three government appointed public representatives and the college’s Executive Director (a non-voting position).
Act & Bylaws
The CRNS is governed by the Registered Nurses Act, 1988, as well as bylaws approved by 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 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.