Nurses play a vital role in our province’s health care system. As the province’s nursing regulator, NSCN protect the public by ensuring nurses have the knowledge, skills and judgement to provide safe, competent, ethical and compassionate nursing services to all Nova Scotians.
The Nursing Act gives NSCN the privilege and responsibility to serve the public by regulating all nurses in Nova Scotia. NSCN sets standards for nursing practice, approves education programs, registers and licenses nurses, and addresses complaints to ensure public safety.
All nurses are required to adhere to appropriate standards, competencies and ethics.
In Nova Scotia there are four nurse designations:
- Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN)
- Registered Nurse (RN)
- Nurse Practitioner (NP)
- Registered Psychiatric Nurse (RPN)
You can study to become a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN), a Registered Nurse (RN) or Nurse Practitioner (NP) in Nova Scotia.
A list of approved education programs can be found on our Education Program Approval Page.