Balance

Having declared, along with 22 other regulatory bodies in BC, the need to make the health system more culturally safe for First Nations and Aboriginal People, the College committed to the dismantling of this persistent colonial legacy.

Specifically, the College will partner with Indigenous peoples to develop strategies and services within the context of TCM and acupuncture, treatments that enable the delivery of services that recognize the need for Indigenous cultural safety and humility and the elimination of Indigenous-specific racism. Further, the College committed to deep, active listening to both Indigenous healthcare providers and patients.

As an opportunity to engage with an Indigenous representative and learn and reflect deeply on Indigenous history and issues, more than 25 Board and Committee Members and College staff, participated in a four-day Indigenous Cultural Safety Education workshop in March and April of this year.

Titled ”The Colonial Narrative: It’s in the Past, Just Get Over It!“, the workshop was facilitated by Ms. Vanessa Mitchell, an Indigenous Cultural Safety Consultant from the Okanagan/Syilx community and Nation. Participants learned about colonization and Indigenous Peoples in Canada, reflecting on how the colonial narrative and ideologies impact Canadian culture today. The workshop title, of course, was a tongue-in-cheek observation that the impact of the colonial narrative is not something of the past. It is very much an active issue and calls on each of us to take action, as made clear in the “In Plain Sight: Addressing Indigenous-specific Racism and Discrimination in B.C. Health Care” report published in November 2020.

Healthcare providers and practitioners in all professions are encouraged to learn more about cultural safety and humility. As powerful agents of change, healthcare professionals are encouraged to make personal commitments to changing the way they work in their own practices.

The College is collaborating with other health regulatory colleges to develop a set of Indigenous cultural safety and humility standards that will make the importance of diversity and inclusion clear to practitioners and the public, and best serve all communities and cultures.

If you identify as Indigenous and/or if you regularly work with Indigenous populations in your practice, we would like to hear your perspectives.

Please send an email to [email protected] with the subject line “Cultural Safety and Humility in TCM/Acupuncture”.  The College will be in touch and will look forward to your input as we take action for cultural safety and humility in the context of the TCM and acupuncture profession.

As part of our commitment to being transparent, collaborative, and fair, we regularly ask for input as we develop and revise our practice standards. Feedback from registrants and the public helps shape policy and is vital to the self-regulation of the traditional Chinese medicine and acupuncture profession.

A practice standard lists out the required practice principles and requirements that a registrant MUST adhere to when working as a regulated health professional. These principles are applicable to all College registrants who provide BC’s diverse population with care in various professional settings. The College also provides practice advice and recommendations for registrants to follow in the practice standards. 

The proposed draft of the updated Practice Standard – Consent to Treatment can be viewed by clicking here.

The survey is anonymous, by design, available in both English and Chinese, and only summary data and comments will be presented to the Quality Assurance Committee. The input of registrants on this important practice standard will be appreciated and the survey will only take a few minutes to complete.

The survey will close at 11:59 pm PDT on August 2nd, 2022. 

After you have read the Practice Standard draft, take the survey by clicking the survey link here.

Thank you for your participation and invaluable feedback!

(As a reference, the current version of the Practice Standard for Consent to Treatment can be found here on the College website.).

For full examination details, please visit the Pan-Canadian Entry-Level Examinations webpage on the College website. Candidates will find resources such as the updated Candidate Handbook, Application Guide, and the necessary forms.

The College posted an Information Update Announcement for the October 2022 examination in March 2022, and future updates will be posted there as well.

Part of the College’s mandate to regulate practitioners of TCM/A and protect the public requires maintaining a Quality Assurance Program (QAP). The QAP is now comprised of two distinct but related components:

1. The familiar

   Continuing Education (CE) program in which you can earn CE credits for attending workshops and participating in various approved training activities.

2. The mandatory Practice Support Program (PSP) which requires you to reflect on and assess your practice, and then design a professional development plan. PSP participation also allows you to earn CE credits.

Registrants are required to complete 50 hours of continuing education activities during each two-year reporting cycle. A minimum of six hours must be face-to-face or ‘in-person,’ under Categories A and/or C. A minimum of four hours must focus on ethical practice and may be credited under any category. PSP participation is reported as Category D.

All 50 CE hours need to be completed within a single two-year reporting period. Hours can not be banked or carried forward.

The new cycle—and the requirement to complete both the CE and PSP components–started in April 2022.

You are familiar with the CE program, so here are a few words about the PSP.

Once you’ve been in the workforce for a period of time, your knowledge and experience grow. Over time, you identify areas of focus or aptitude for your practice. The PSP is based on 14 Career-Span Competencies (CSCs), providing core expectations for practicing TCM/A. It allows you, as a registrant, to actively rate and manage your own evolving competence and earn additional CE credits while doing so.

Completing PSP activities claimed in CE Category D can fulfill both ‘in-person’ and ethical practice hour requirements. There are fewer minimum and/or maximum limits for Category D activities. View full details here: Continuing Competency Program Requirements.

The College provides support to registrants as they get familiar with the PSP. Registrants can find updated templates and instructions to complete Stage 1: Self-Reflective Assessment Tool here (LINK REQUIRED).  Registrants should not rush this step, but make sure to take the time reflect deeply in order to get a detailed assessment and a correct diagnosis of their practice!

The Quality Assurance Committee allows registrants who are starting a new Quality Assurance (QA) cycle in April 2022 to complete this step by the end of 2022.