Last Updated on August 27, 2016

Appendix B – National Occupational Classification (NOC) 3012: Registered Nurses and Registered Psychiatric Nurses

This unit group typically comprises registered nurses, registered psychiatric nurses and graduates of a nursing program. All these individuals will usually be awaiting registration as graduate nurses. These individuals are responsible for:

• Providing direct nursing care to patients

• Delivering health education programs and,

• Providing various consultative services involving issues relevant to the practice of nursing

These individuals usually find employment in a variety of settings such as:

• Hospitals

• Nursing homes

• Extended care facilities

• Rehabilitation centres

• Doctors’ offices

• Clinics

• Community agencies and,

• Companies or private homes

In some cases, these individuals could be self-employed as well.

The Example Titles

Some example titles held by these individuals could include:

• Ambulatory care nurse

• Bedside nurse

• Burn patient care nurse

• Burn victim care nurse

• Cardiac surgery nurse

• Cardiology nurse

• Cardiology nurse technician

• Casual duty nurse

• Circulating nurse

• Clinic nurse

• Clinical nurse

• Clinical nurse specialist

• Community health nurse

• Consultant nurse

• Consultant, nursing

• Contagious disease transmission prevention nurse

• Coordinator, infection control – hospitals

• Coronary intensive care nurse

• Coronary unit nurse

• Critical care nurse

• Dialysis nurse

• Doctor’s office nurse

• Emergency care nurse

• Emergency nurse

• First aid nurse

• Float nurse

• General duty nurse

• General duty nurse – psychiatry

• Geriatric care nurse

• Geriatric nurse

• Gerontology nurse

• Graduate nurse

• Graduate nurse – doctor’s office

• Graduate nurse – occupational health

• Graduate nurse – physician’s officers

• Graduate private duty nurse

• Graduate religious nurse

• Hemodialysis nurse

• Home care neuroscience nurse

• Home care nurse

• Home care nurse, neuroscience

• Hospital hygiene nurse

• Hospital hygienist – nursing

• Hospital nurse

• Intensive Care Unit (ICU) nurse

• Independent practice – registered nurse

• Industrial nurse

• Infection control coordinator – hospital

• Infection control nurse

• Infection control officer – hospital

• Infection control officer – medical

• Infection surveillance nurse

• Intensive care nurse

• Liaison nurse

• Medical intensive care nurse

• Mental health nurse

• Missionary nurse

• Nephrology and kidney transplantation nurse

• Nephrology and renal transplantation nurse

• Nephrology nurse

• Neuroscience nurse

• Nurse

• Nurse – birthing room

• Nurse consultant

• Nurse counsellor

• Nurse employed at national level

• Nurse of Native ancestry

• Nurse researcher

• Nurse technician

• Nurse, contagious disease transmission prevention

• Nurse, geriatric

• Nurse, hospital hygiene

• Nursing adviser

• Nursing consultant

• Nursing counsellor

• Nursing evaluator

• Nursing researcher

• Nursing researcher – nurse

• Nursing technician

• Obstetrics nurse

• Occupational health nurse

• Occupational health nurse consultant

• Occupational medicine nurse

• Office nurse

• Officer, infection control – hospital

• On-call nurse

• Oncology nurse

• Operating Room (OR) nurse

• Out-patient clinic nurse

• Outpost nurse

• Outreach nurse

• Palliative care nurse

• Paediatric intensive care nurse

• Paediatric nurse

• Perinatal care nurse

• Physician’s office nurse

• Primary care nurse

• Primary nurse

• Private care nurse

• Private duty nurse

• Psychiatric and mental health nurse

• Psychiatric nurse

• Public and community health nurse

• Public health nurse

• Public health nurse consultant

• Recovery room nurse

• Red Cross nurse

• Registered community health nurse

• Registered industrial nurse

• Registered nurse – call centre

• Registered nurse – contact centre

• Registered nurse – independent practice

• Registered nurse – public and community health

• Registered nurse – telehealth

• Registered Nurse (RN)

• Registered Psychiatric Nurse (RPN)

• School health nurse

• School nurse

• Scrub nurse

• Staff nurse

• Surgical intensive care nurse

• Telehealth registered nurse

• Tele-nurse

• Triage nurse

• Victoria Order nurse

• Victoria Order of Nurses (VON) nurse

• Visiting nurse

• Ward nurse and,

• Youth centre nurse

The Main Duties

General duty registered nurses would usually perform some or all of the following duties:

• Assessing patients for identifying appropriate nursing interventions

• Collaborating with members of an interdisciplinary health team for planning, implementing, coordinating and evaluating patient care in consultation with patients and their families

• Administering medications and treatments as specified by a physician or according to established policies and protocols

• Monitoring, assessing, addressing, documenting and reporting symptoms and changes in patients’ conditions

• Operating or monitoring medical apparatus or equipment

• Assisting in surgery and other medical procedures

• Supervising licenced practical nurses and other nursing staff

• Developing and implementing discharge planning processes on the admission of patients

• Teaching and counselling patients and their families on health-related issues in collaboration with other health care providers

Similarly, occupational health nurses focus on developing and implementing employee health education programs and provide registered nursing care in private businesses and industry.

Community health nurses:

• Provide health education and registered nursing care in public health units and through home visits

• Manage complex home care cases

• Participate in community needs assessment and program development

• Conduct disease screening and,

• Deliver immunisation programs

Psychiatric nurses typically provide nursing care, supportive counselling and life skills programming to patients in psychiatric hospitals, mental health clinics, long-term care facilities and community-based settings.

Nursing consultants provide consultative services to institutes, associations and health care organisations over issues and concerns pertaining to the nursing profession and nursing practice.

Clinical nurses typically provide leadership, advice and counsel on the provision of research-based care for specific patient groups that are under the care of particular health care organisations.

It is worth highlighting that registered nurses could specialise in areas such as:

• Surgery

• Obstetrics care

• Psychiatric care

• Critical care

• Paediatrics

• Geriatrics

• Community health

• Occupational health

• Emergency care

• Rehabilitation or,

• Oncology

The Employment Requirements

The authorities require that registered nurses should have:

• Completed a university, college or other approved registered nursing program

• Additional academic training or experience for specialising in a specific area of nursing

• A master’s or doctoral degree in nursing if they are clinical nurse specialists, clinical nurses, nursing consultants and nursing researchers and,

• Registered with a regulatory body (this is mandatory in all provinces and territories)

Similarly, the authorities require registered psychiatric nurses to have:

• Completed a university or college registered psychiatric nursing program and,

• Registered with a regulatory body (this is especially required in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia and the Yukon)

Additional Information

It is worth mentioning that the authorities would be regulating nurses trained exclusively as registered psychiatric nurses (RPN) in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia. In all other provinces and territories, registered nurses (RNs) have the ability to work as psychiatric nurses without a separate registration.

In addition, registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses could progress to supervisory and managerial positions as they gain experience.

Classified Elsewhere

• Nurse practitioners i.e. National Occupational Classification (NOC) 3124 – Allied primary health practitioners [refer to Appendix J]

• Nursing coordinators and supervisors i.e. National Occupational Classification (NOC) 3011 – refer to Appendix K

• Nursing service managers i.e. National Occupational Classification (NOC) 0311 – Managers in health care [refer to Appendix L] and,

• Registered practical nurses i.e. National Occupational Classification (NOC) 3233 – Licenced practical nurses