Nursing alumna Michelle Acorn (MN 2003) receives inaugural Sapphire Award from the Canadian Nurses Association (CNA)
Source: https://bloomberg.nursing.utoronto.ca/media/in-the-news/nursing-alumna-michelle-acorn-mn-2003-receives-inaugural-sapphire-award-from-the-canadian-nurses-association-cna/ Parent: https://bloomberg.nursing.utoronto.ca/news/
11 February 2026
Michelle Acorn, an alumnus of the Lawrence Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing and an adjunct lecturer, is the first recipient of the Canadian Nurse’s Association’s Sapphire Award, the highest recognition of nursing achievement.
Acorn is honoured for her significant and sustained contributions to nursing and healthcare, both in Canada and around the world. She has held numerous leadership positions, including the role of Chief Nursing Officer of Ontario, and was the inaugural Chief Nurse of the International Council of Nurses (ICN). Acorn is currently the CEO of the Nurse Practitioner’s Association of Ontario (NPAO), where she has worked to improve the working conditions and status of Nurse Practitioners in the province.
“I’m truly touched to have received this legacy award. It has made me reflect on my career trajectory, and the collective and cumulative effort of the many people that I have worked with as we have sought to advance health equity and gender equity for nurses and the populations for which they provide care,” says Acorn.
Leading policy change for NPs
In her current role, Acorn has been actively involved in efforts to change policy at the provincial and federal levels to advance the status of NPs as autonomous healthcare providers. Her leadership has resulted in some successful changes. Working together with Canada’s Chief Nursing Officer and the federal government, a new interpretation of the Canada Health Act will come into effect in April 2026, which indicates medically necessary services provided by NPs should be publicly funded as physician equivalent services.
“This is a defining moment right now for NPs in how we practice, where we practice, and how we are remunerated. I think this is a positive development for recruitment and retention of NPs, but also respect,” says Acorn of the change.
Her passion for NP practice is driven by what she describes as the immersive and integrated leadership of NPs within health care and education. NPs are teaching and educating future nurses while also demonstrating leadership within health systems.
Looking ahead to what’s next, Acorn remains committed to improving the status of NPs by advocating for flexible funding models, respectful compensation, clinical leadership within interprofessional health teams, including NPs at data and decision-making tables, and stabilizing the NP workforce in Ontario.
“NPs are no longer just clinicians, we are system leaders, and I want to ensure we are visible and valued,” says Acorn. “Together we can redefine what models of care look like to address what the population needs.”
Keep up-to-date
Email AddressJoin
Sign-up for our monthly internal or quarterly alumni newsletter.