Reporting Practice Hours

LPN, RN, RPN and NP new graduates are eligible for licensure for 3 years after their graduation date. After graduation date eligibility, a nurse must meet a minimum number of practice hours to maintain their licence.

• LPN, RN and RPN licensure eligibility requires that a person practice as a nurse within their respective licensure category for at least 1125 hours within the last 5 years OR 450 hours within the last 2 years.
• NP licensure eligibility requires that a person practice as an NP for at least 900 hours within the last 3 years.
  
  Note: Practice hours as an NP also count towards the legislative requirement for RN licensure. An NP holds an RN licence and an NP licence.

During the licensure renewal period (mid-January to March 31) you must report your hours of practice for the current year on your renewal application. If returning to practice outside of the licensure renewal period (reinstatement) you must contact the College to report your practice hours.

Practice hours are linked to an employer that you have identified in your profile. The Regulations require that you identify all nursing employers to the College, including self-employment.

If you have no practice hours for the reporting year, you should enter zero (0) hours on the renewal application.

You may revise your hours for previously reported licensure years, by submitting a dated and signed letter, with your NLCN#, licensure year, and corrected number of hours practiced. The letter can be sent to registration@nlcn.ca.

You can count practice hours if:

• you held a practicing license during the period being reported,
• you practice in an LPN, RN, RPN or NP role and your role involves providing nursing services within the scope of LPN, RN, RPN or NP practice,
• you practiced in accordance with the College’s Standards of Practice and/or Code of Professional Conduct.

Example – How to calculate practice hours (based on full time employment).

If you are employed on a part-time or casual basis you will need to count the number of shifts/days.

When calculating your practice hours, you cannot claim time spent:

• on call
• travelling
• on vacation
• paid or unpaid leave (e.g., sick, paternity, disability, sabbatical, bereavement, family, etc.).
• caring for family members or friends/neighbours
• volunteer hours where the position does not require a practicing licence

Note: overtime hours must be reported at straight time and not time and half (1.5) or double (2) time.

Nursing practice that occurs outside of NL may be counted if you were registered/licensed in that province/territory/state or country.

Note: verification of registration or licensure status may be requested by the College.

The College recognizes practice hours in all domains of nursing (clinical, education, administration, policy, and research) as nursing practice hours. If you have questions about a specific role/position and whether you can claim nursing practice hours, you must review the College’s Scope of Practice Framework and resource documents available on the College’s website. The framework documents include the College’s definition of practice as an LPN, RN, RPN and NP.

If you are currently practising or considering practising in a non-traditional role, you should review the Scope of Practice resources. You may be required to submit a Non-Traditional Role Attestation form. Contact the College’s Practice Team for a copy of the attestation or if you have questions about non-traditional role(s). The attestation from should be submitted to practice@nlcn.ca.

NP practice is recognized in all domains of nursing (clinical, education, administration, policy, and research); however, for hours to be counted as NP hours, the role must include application of advanced clinical knowledge, competencies, and advanced decision making. If you have questions about a specific role/position and whether you can claim nursing NP practice hours, you must review the College’s Scope of Practice Framework and resource documents. The framework document includes the College’s definition of practice an NP.

Some considerations for NPs:

• NPs in an educator role may claim NP hours when teaching in the NP program. If you also teach in the Bachelor of Nursing program these teaching hours can only be reported towards RN practice hours. You must be performing advanced competencies to be considered practice as an NP.
• NPs in an administrator/management role may claim NP hours if they are responsible for the management of other NPs.
• If an NP in an educator role or administrator role does not teach or manage NPs, they must maintain a separate practice to obtain NP hours in order to renew their NP licence.

Under the Regulations, a person renewing a licence may be eligible based on being:

• RN — Enrolled and participating in a Bachelor (eg. RN to BN degree), graduate or doctoral program in nursing or in a health-related discipline recognized by the College and at the date of admission to the program was eligible for a practicing RN licence.
• RPN — Enrolled and participating in a Bachelor (e.g. RPN diploma to degree), graduate or doctoral program in psychiatric nursing or in a health-related discipline recognized by the College and at the date of admission to the program was eligible for a practicing RPN licence.
• LPN – Enrolled and participating in a Bachelor (e.g. LPN diploma to degree), graduate or doctoral program in nursing or in a health-related discipline recognized by the College and at the date of admission to the program was eligible for a practicing LPN licence.
• NP – Enrolled and participating in a Bachelor, graduate or doctoral program (e.g. DNP) in nursing or in a health-related discipline recognized by the College and at the date of admission to the program was eligible for a practicing NP licence.

If a registrant no longer meets the practice hours requirement for licensure renewal but is enrolled and participating in a program noted above, they will be required to submit official transcripts from the University to the College for review. Renewal of a licence under this criteria can be used for a maximum of five years.

If a registrant engaged in self-employment is required to submit documentation of practice hours to the College, these hours must be verified by a 3rd party (e.g., accountant, tax specialist, or organization if doing consulting work).

See the practice resource on self-employment for RNs, NPs, and RPNs for more information.

View the self-employment resource for LPNs.

If you no longer meet the legislative requirement to renew a practicing licence you may be eligible to participate in the College’s Supervised Practice Experience Partnership Program (SPEPP) or may be required to complete an approved Re-entry program.

For additional information on SPEPP visit the College website’s SPEPP page.

At this time SPEPP is not available for RPNs or internationally educated NP applicants.

The College is currently developing an audit process for self-reported practice hours. Once the process is finalized registrants will be notified. Ensure you keep your own documentation in the event you are audited.