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p.e.i. launches single regulator for nurses and midwives
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p.e.i. has become the second province to adopt a single regulatory body with the creation of the p.e.i. college of nursing and midwifery. from left, chelsea chessman, council chair, melissa panton, ceo and registrar, and dawn rix-moore, chief operating officer.
vivian ulinwa
/
the guardian
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the p.e.i. college of nursing and midwifery officially launched on april 1, bringing multiple nursing and midwifery professions under one regulatory body.
the new college is now responsible for overseeing licensed practical nurses, registered nurses, nurse practitioners, registered psychiatric nurses and midwives across the province.
ceo and registrar melissa panton told the guardian the merger of two former colleges was driven by a need to improve efficiency.
“it was an aim to slow down some of the redundancies that we had and also create efficiencies in order to better serve the public,” she said.
panton said both former organizations were small and had similar responsibilities as regulators in other provinces, which made the work more demanding when operating separately.
“so, this gives us better staff base in order to create resources,” she said.
she added that while the college of registered nurses and midwives had already begun operating as a multi-disciplinary regulator in recent years, this is a new experience for licensed practical nurses.
“it is new, though, for our practical nursing members is this is their first time being part of a multidisciplinary college, but we hope that for them, this transition is seamless, they’ll receive the same services that they’ve always had from the college of licensed practical nurses in the new one.”
melissa panton, ceo and registrar of the p.e.i. college of nursing and midwifery, told the guardian the merger of the two former colleges was driven by a need to improve efficiency. photo by vivian ulinwa /the guardian
dawn rix-moore, chief operating officer and former executive director of one of the colleges, said bringing staff together allows for stronger operations and less duplication.
“this opportunity allows us to bring together staff with years of regulatory expertise and ensure our operations are streamlined, and we can reduce duplication,” she said.
while some staff roles have changed with the merger, rix-moore said there was already overlap between the two organizations, making the transition smoother.
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for nurses and midwives, one of the biggest changes is having a single point of contact.
“they can come to one place to find the information they’re looking for,” rix-moore said. “previously, depending upon your designation, you may have had to seek out one or the other college.”
dawn rix-moore, chief operating officer of the new p.e.i. college of nursing and midwifery, says bringing staff together allows for stronger operations and less duplication. photo by vivian ulinwa /the guardian
she said the change will also make it easier for nurses coming from other provinces to register in p.e.i., reducing confusion about where to apply.
the new structure is also expected to simplify complaint processes for the public. panton said in situations involving multiple types of nurses, people previously had to contact more than one college.
despite the structural changes, rix-moore said the college’s main focus remains the same.
“we want to maintain the public protection focus that we had and make sure that if the public should have a concern, there’s a process and they can contact us,” he said.
panton, who was appointed ceo and registrar in february, said the team is ready for the transition but acknowledges more work lies ahead.
“we’re quite happy that we’ve crossed the finish line. we know we have a lot of work yet to do,” she said.
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vivian ulinwa is a reporter for the guardian in prince edward island. she can be reached at vulinwa@postmedia.com and followed on x @vivian_ulinwa.
this article was originally published in the charlottetown guardian on april 9, 2026.
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