In 2023 CASN received funding for a project titled “Fostering change in entry-to-practice education programs for nurses in Canada to increase equitable access to abortion services”. This project was a component of the Contraception and Abortion Research Team (CART) Access Project: Advancing access to abortion for under-served populations through tools for healthcare professionals and people seeking care”, which has been funded by Health Canada.
Health professional education plays a role in increasing access to abortion care, yet not all NP or RN education programs include abortion care as part of their curriculum (Paynter, 2022; Carson et al., 2023). There is a need to include, or increase, abortion care content in nursing education programs. Often, where abortion content exists, it is examined as an ethical issue but is not included as part of the nursing role. Nurses in many areas of practice, including primary care and emergency departments, have patients/clients experiencing unintended pregnancies. RNs entering practice should be equipped to care for patients/clients experiencing unintended pregnancies, whether that be through providing care themselves (within their legislated scope of practice) or collaborating with other health care providers (understanding what resources are available). By better preparing RNs and NPs in this area, we can start to remove some of the barriers to abortion access and care.
To provide guidance to schools of nursing to increase abortion care content in curricula, CASN has developed Entry-to-Practice Abortion Care Competencies for Undergraduate Nursing and Nurse Practitioner Education in Canada.
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