Role Reversal: Caring for Aging Parents

People are living longer, and many want to remain at home for as long as they can. This means that children of elderly parents are finding themselves in the role of caregiver while also balancing work and other family responsibilities.

Caregivers often seek the support of others to help aging parents remain healthy in the comfort of their own homes. For example, home health nurses provide home care visits and work with the family and other health care providers to deliver safe, patient-centred care.

Confirming that someone is qualified to provide nursing care before contracting them to conduct home care visits is as easy as checking that they are registered with the College of Nurses of Ontario, the province’s nursing regulator. On the College’s website, someone’s nursing credentials can be confirmed through Find a Nurse, the public register. Everyone who has met the requirements to be a nurse in Ontario, such as graduating from a nursing program and passing a national exam, is on Find a Nurse.

By conducting a name search in Find a Nurse, you can confirm that the person caring for your loved one is currently eligible to practise nursing in Ontario. This search option is one way the College supports safe nursing care for Ontarians.

Nursing is one of the most trusted professions. Nurses work hard to maintain that trust by upholding practice standards set by the regulator. Anyone who says they are a nurse, but are not, undermines that trust between nurses and the public.

More information about how the College protects the public is available at www.cno.org/here.