Dr. Michelle Acorn | CEO | Nurse Practitioners’ Association of Ontario

Supportive leadership is an essential and valuable leadership style for businesses. It fosters positive relationships between employees and ultimately empowers team members to develop their professional skills and work well autonomously or with little active management and guidance.

Leadership for Dr. Michelle Acorn, CEO of the Nurse Practitioners’ Association of Ontario (NPAO), is about creating a supportive environment where people feel valued, enabled, and empowered. She believes empathy, compassion, appreciation, integrity, and a commitment to inclusivity have been vital in shaping the culture within the NPAO and beyond. In representing over 5,000 Nurse Practitioners (NPs) across the province, Dr. Acorn strives to lead transparently, actively listening to the members and team’s diverse needs and ideas. “Building trust and fostering collaboration among members is essential in driving our collective success, ensuring that everyone feels invested in our mission to advance and integrate the role of Nurse Practitioners as clinicians and leaders,” says Dr. Acorn.

The dedication to enhancing care for health equity-seeking populations is deeply rooted in Dr. Acorn’s practice as a Nurse Practitioner and in her leadership of NPAO. She thinks the key is to stay engaged with community health initiatives, focusing on underserved populations, such as rural, remote, and racialized communities. Dr. Acorn ensures that the institute’s policies and programs reflect real-world needs and challenges by staying connected with frontline care and seeing the work directly with patients. Collaborating with community organizations on the ground and advocating for systemic changes are integral to her approach to promoting health equity across all sectors.

Overcoming Challenges

Nurse Practitioners often face challenges related to the scope of practice limitations and varying levels of recognition and support within the health care system. To address these issues, NPAO works tirelessly to advocate for evidence-informed legislative and policy changes that expand their role and clarify their contributions to patient care and teams. “The NP profession has evolved significantly in the past few decades. NPAO is over 50 years old. When the Canada Health Act was passed in 1984, the NP profession was not explicitly included like physicians,” explains Dr. Acorn. “One of the challenges we are working on overcoming is educating decision-makers and the public on the full scope of health services NPs can provide and how we can continue to expand our role in the Ontario health system. We are making significant headway, but more work needs to be done.”

One of Dr. Acorn’s primary goals is to expand further and embed the role of Nurse Practitioners across Ontario’s healthcare system. This includes shifting the focus from NPs as clinicians to health care leaders. NPs have the specific clinical background, education, training, and expertise to take on leadership roles within the healthcare system and are particularly suited to lead interprofessional care teams. The institute must leverage its thought leadership and health workforce talents to drive system improvements and patient outcomes and boost team capacity. Another key goal is to accelerate the creation of multiple flexible funding models to facilitate the appropriate integration of NPs across the healthcare system. NPs represent an underutilized resource in the province, and alternative reimbursement investment models will allow NPs to serve patients to their full potential to meet the growing demand for healthcare services. NPAO will focus on this and much more this fall legislative session.

Helping NPs with Opportunities

Membership with NPAO offers numerous benefits, including access to professional development resources, networking opportunities, and advocacy support for over 20 communities of practice. Continuing education, monthly webinars, and unique job postings help advance the careers of their members, while networking opportunities, such as at their upcoming Annual Conference in September, help connect NPs from across the province and build meaningful relationships. Membership fees also help enable NPAO to advocate for removing barriers to NP practice, such as referrals to specialists and controlled drugs and substances with success. “We are committed to advocating on behalf of NPs to increase NP compensation and strengthen their voice in Ontario. NPs can join by visiting our website and completing the membership application here,” elucidates Dr. Acorn. “New members can immediately start participating in various initiatives that align with our mission to advance the NP profession and improve health care outcomes.”

Dr. Acorn has been leading the push for an expanded scope of practice for NPs in Ontario and the progress toward flexible funding models. These efforts have involved extensive advocacy, collaboration, stakeholder engagement, and public education. In the last six months, NPAO has met with over 20 Members of the Provincial Parliament in Ontario, including the Minister of Health and Leader of the Official Opposition, and numerous Parliamentary Assistants, officials, and Ministerial staff members. They have also received extensive media coverage, with over 10 million impressions across all mediums. “We are seeing tangible improvements in NP recognition as key contributors to the health care system, and we are elevating the voice of NPs and NPAO as trusted thought leaders in the space. This has all been incredibly rewarding,” she says. Dr. Acorn has led the institute towards pathbreaking achievements due to her brilliant mindset.

Dr. Acorn was inducted as an inaugural Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Nursing (FCAN), Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing (FAAN), Fellow of the Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland (FFNMRCSI, Ad Eundem), Fellow of the Queen’s Institute in the United Kingdom. Dr. Acorn has received prestigious recognitions, including the Nurse Practitioner Association of Canada Award of Excellence (2023), Premier’s Award Nominee for Outstanding Scholars and Leaders (2022), Fleming College, Alumni of Distinction (2013), Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society, Nursing Leader (2003) University of Toronto, Arbor Volunteer Award (2020) and the Alzheimer’s Society, Community Partner Award (2010).

Building A Strong Future

The move towards a connected, integrated healthcare system aligns perfectly with NPAO’s goals. It provides an opportunity to showcase the critical role of Nurse Practitioners in delivering comprehensive, patient-centered care. Integration helps to break down silos and facilitates better interprofessional collaboration between healthcare providers, ultimately improving patient outcomes and access to care.

For the days to come, Dr. Acorn will continue driving forward the role of Nurse Practitioners and advocating for systemic changes that enhance health care delivery. NPAO has its 2024 conference beginning on September 25 with many exciting things in store, from professional development workshops to networking opportunities. NPAO will also be at Queen’s Park this fall, advocating for real change for their membership.

She is also working on elevating the voices of over 5000 NPs internationally in Ontario. Last month, NPAO had a group of NPs from New Zealand tour Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinics (NPLC), and there are a lot of key learnings they can take away by looking to other jurisdictions. It is also an opportunity for NPs in Ontario to be seen as global leaders in the profession, which Dr. Acorn believes is true provincially, nationally, and internationally. “We are doing so much, and like-minded countries are now looking to us for leadership. Both professionally and personally I want to continue to build these cross-border relationships and leverage what is being done around the world,” adds Dr. Acorn.