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The depth and breadth of the scope of nursing practice in Alberta places registered nurses in a position where they make a significant contribution to health care. The nature of the contribution of registered nurses in a given practice setting must rely on a determination of the appropriate scope of practice for registered nurses in that setting. That determination should be guided by the principles outlined above, and in accordance with the documents cited in this paper. Within these guiding principles, activities performed by registered nurses in a given practice setting should be mutually agreed upon between health care professionals, should be time constant, and should be driven by the needs and consent of the client, not by the desire for convenience in health care professionals in the practice setting.

This paper summarized data from a survey which was conducted to establish the status of computing in Alberta's professional nursing programs. It describes the hardware and software applications in use and identifies barriers to the growth of instructional computing. The study reveals a range of activity in Alberta's nursing programs and definite progressive trends. Future directions as perceived by program leaders are reported.