In 2022, the CLPNM published guidance for its registrants identifying agency nursing as a high-risk practice domain, requiring exceptional critical thinking and judgment as well as practice experience.
In June, 2025, the CLPNM Board of Directors approved revisions to the document, which is now published as a practice direction. Practical nurses are expected to comply with the information disseminated in practice directions.
The new Practice Direction on Agency Nursing identifies a minimum number of practice hours that a licensed practical nurse (LPN) must work before engaging in agency nursing practice in Manitoba.
The minimum hour requirement is 2,015 Canadian LPN practice hours, which is equivalent to a year of full-time practice.
This minimum hour requirement exists to ensure that novices to the profession have an opportunity to consolidate their nursing knowledge, judgment and skill in a supportive and more consistent practice environment before engaging in agency practice, where the risks and corresponding competency requirements are greater.
This hour requirement will take effect July 16, 2025. This means that, on or after July 16, the CLPNM will require that Manitoba LPNs have practised a minimum of 2,015 hours of Canadian LPN practice hours before engaging in agency nursing practice.
Please review our FAQs below for more information.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is the rationale for implementing a practice hour requirement for agency nursing practice?
This minimum hour requirement (i.e., 2,015 Canadian LPN practice hours) exists to ensure that novices to the profession have an opportunity to consolidate their nursing knowledge, judgment and skill in a supportive and more consistent practice environment before engaging in agency practice where the practice risks and corresponding competency requirements are greater.
Do the practice hours need to be completed within a specified time?
No. The CLPNM expects registrants to accumulate at least 2,015 Canadian Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) practice hours before engaging in agency practice as a Manitoba LPN. This number is equivalent to one year of full-time practice but may be reached over a longer period. For example, if you work part-time, it may take you several years to obtain the required 2,015 practice hours before you are eligible to work as an agency nurse.
Do I need to maintain a certain number of agency nursing practice hours?
No. This practice hour requirement is about gaining practice experience before practising through an agency. Once you are eligible to practice through an agency, the CLPNM does not require that you continue working any specific number of hours in agency practice.
The CLPNM does require LPNs to practise at least 1,000 hours in any four-year period to remain eligible for registration. This requirement applies to all LPNs in Manitoba. The necessary hours can be acquired in any nursing practice setting.
Do the required practice hours need to be completed in a specific practice setting?
No. The practice hours you need to obtain before being eligible to practice as an agency nurse do not need to be completed in a specific practice setting as long as they are Canadian LPN practice hours.
Once I have 2,015 hours of Canadian LPN practice, am I confirmed to have the competence necessary to practice through an agency?
Not necessarily. 2,015 hours is the minimum number of practice hours required before engaging in agency nursing practice. As an LPN, you remain responsible for self-assessing and for ensuring that you, as an individual, have the competence needed for this type of nursing practice. Regardless of your practice setting, you are accountable for practising within your level of competence.
How do I verify that I’ve met the 2,015-practice hour requirement?
As an LPN, you are responsible for tracking your practice hours and reporting them each year as part of your registration renewal application. You can verify the number of practice hours you have previously self-reported to the CLPNM by logging into your online CLPNM registration profile. The profile will show the hours you reported that you worked in the previous four years. Note that any hours you have practised during the current registration year will not appear in your profile yet, as they get reported to the CLPNM during the annual registration renewal window each fall.
Will the CLPNM provide me with written verification of my practice hours if my agency asks me to provide verification?
The organizations that are in the best position to verify an LPN’s practice hours are the employers that the LPN has previously worked for. The CLPNM does not provide formal documentation to registrants regarding practice hours as the hours recorded in our system are unverified, self-reported hours, entered by registrants during the registration renewal period.
If it is helpful, the CLPNM can provide the following information:
- We can provide the number of hours we have previously verified with an LPN’s employers, if that LPN has previously been selected by the CLPNM for a verification of hours. We select a sample of LPNs each year and verify their hours. Since we select only a small sample of LPNs for verification each year, the CLPNM does not have verified hours on record for most LPNs.
- We can provide an email identifying the number of hours the LPN has previously self-reported to us. However, the CLPNM makes no representation as to the accuracy or reliability of any practice hours that have been self-reported to us that have not been verified by an employer.
The CLPNM reserves a right to charge an administrative fee for this service.
Can my senior practicum hours and/or Graduate Practical Nursing (GPN) hours count towards the 2,015-hour requirement?
No. Any clinical hours completed before receiving your LPN registration/designation would not qualify; this includes senior practicum hours and/or hours worked as a Graduate Practical Nurse (GPN).
I worked with an agency before this practice direction took effect. Am I grandfathered in and exempt from the 2,015-hour requirement?
No. The practice expectations outlined in the new/revised Agency Nursing Practice Direction (including the 2,015-hour requirement) will take effect on July 16, 2025 at which time it will apply to all LPNs regardless of when they commenced their LPN practice.
If you are currently practising through an agency and have not yet accumulated at least 2,015 hours of Canadian LPN practice, please choose a different practice setting to consolidate your knowledge, judgment and skill as an LPN. Once you have accumulated at least 2015 hours of practice in a more stable practice setting, and self-assess that you are competent and ready for safe practice in an agency context, you may begin practising through an agency.
Do I need to tell the CLPNM when I work for / through a nursing agency?
Yes. You are required to declare all employers, including agencies. Please see the CLPNM’s Practice Direction on Communicating with Your Regulator.
From CLPNM’s perspective, who is responsible for ensuring LPNs have sufficient practice hours to engage in agency practice?
The LPN is responsible for meeting all expectations in CLPNM practice directions, including the new practice hour requirement for agency nursing.
How will the CLPNM review and enforce the agency practice hour requirement?
We review practice hours as part of the Continuing Competence Program (CCP). Each year, the CLPNM selects a sample of LPNs to provide verification of their practice hours. This is the process used to confirm that LPNs on the active practising register are maintaining currency of practice as required by provincial regulation (1,000 hours of LPN practice in each 4 year period). The CLPNM will begin using this practice hour verification process to also verify that LPNs, who practise through agencies, attained at least 2,015 hours of Canadian LPN practice before they engaged in agency nursing.
In addition, when there is a complaint regarding the practice of an LPN who practises through an agency, the CLPNM may, as part of its investigation into the complaint:
- check to confirm that the nurse declared the agency as one of their employers (as required by the CLPNM’s Practice Direction on Communicating with Your Regulator) and
- review the LPN’s practice hours, and potentially seek verification of the LPN’s hours from previous employers, to confirm the LPN was eligible to engage in agency nursing practice.
The CLPNM also reserves the right to request verification of practice hours at any time.
