Self-Employed Practice Guideline: External Stakeholder Survey

Self-employed Registered Nurses (RN) and Nurse Practitioners (NP) improve access to health care services for the residents of Saskatchewan by practicing within their scope and using their expertise in the practice environment. Self-employed practitioners apply their knowledge, skills and judgment in many roles that enable individuals, families, groups, communities and populations to achieve optimum levels of health. These practice environments may be individual, collaborative or administrative. Self-employed practice may also be termed private practice, independent practice, contracting or consulting.

Examples of self-employed practice include health promotion and prevention services such as smoking cessation, health education and risk screening; curative, restorative or palliative care such as home care, foot care and mental health services; or serving as a consultant to agencies on health care related issues.

All RNs and NPs in any area of practice are required to practice within the applicable standards, entry-level competencies and code of ethics. It is recommended that the RN and NP pursuing self-employed practice review the current CRNS Registered Nurse Practice Standards, Nurse Practitioner Practice Standards, Registered Nurse Entry-Level Competencies, Nurse Practitioner Entry-Level Competencies, and the Canadian Nurses Association (CNA) Code of Ethics for Registered Nurses as appropriate. The information contained in this guideline is current as of the publication date.