The practice standards help to guide the nursing and midwifery professions by outlining competencies and behaviours that all clients can expect each time they interact with a nurse or midwife. These standards outline what nurses and midwives are accountable for and what the public can expect of the professionals that care for them and their family members. 

They support nurses and midwives to provide safe, competent, ethical and compassionate care to the public by setting requirements for practice.

Standards of Practice apply to all NSNMR registrants regardless of practice setting or location within Nova Scotia. 

Entry-level Competencies

Entry-level or core competencies reflect the knowledge, skills, and judgement required of nurses and midwives to provide safe, competent, ethical and compassionate care. These outline the essential competencies that nurses and midwives must possess at the very beginning of their career in order to provide safe, quality care in any practice setting.  

Code of Ethics

In Nova Scotia, all nurses and midwives are accountable to practise based on their respective Code of Ethics. As a nurse or midwife, your relevant Code of Ethics is a resource to assist you in practising ethically and working through ethical challenges that may arise in your practice setting with individuals, clients, families, communities and the health system. Codes of Ethics also guide behaviours and decision-making and are used in collaboration with professional standards, best practice, research, laws and regulations that guide practice. 

Standards of Practice

Standards of Practice promote, guide, direct and regulate professional practice. They set out the legal and professional requirements for nursing and midwifery practice and describe the level of performance expected. Standards guide the professional knowledge, skills and judgment needed to practise safely.

Sexual Misconduct Standard of Practice

All registrants are responsible for following the sexual misconduct standards. The standards are in addition to their respective designation standards.

  • Registrants must not engage in sexual misconduct
  • Registrants are required to report sexual misconduct

Read the complete sexual misconduct standards of practice for nurses.

Read the complete standards for the prevention of sexual misconduct for midwives.