Thirty-nine year old nurse practitioner (NP) Stella Cruz has been alive almost as long as NPs have worked in Ontario. Her path, and that of other NPs, has been propelled by advocacy that this year reached a new milestone when RNAO hosted its first NP Institute* in March.

Cruz was one of the more than 100 NPs and health leaders from across Ontario and every sector of practice to attend the event, which was held in Niagara-on-the-Lake. She was an advanced practice nurse for about six years when, in 2011, the province expanded the scope of practice for NPs in ways long advocated for by RNAO. “It was one of the main reasons I became an NP,” she says. “As an advanced practice nurse, I wasn’t able to diagnose and prescribe. When the legislation passed, I thought: ‘Yes! I want to be able to work to full scope of practice.’”

She wasn’t alone. The passing of Bill 179, legislation aimed at making hospitals more effective, especially in rural and remote areas, “…allowed nurses with advanced skills to deliver comprehensive care to patients,” she says.

Cruz was one of four NPs to share their research work in break-out sessions during the NP Institute. Participants attended these and other sessions to learn, to network, to be inspired and to offer support. The event generated camaraderie because participants also lived together for two-and-a half days.

“The social atmosphere was important to build collegial participation and to help each other out,” says Mae Katt, a primary health care NP from Temagami First Nation and co-chair for the institute alongside RNAO CEO Doris Grinspun.