Volume 2, No.2, December 1997

Highlights:

Nominations

Fees for 1998

Examination Schedule

Inquiry

Public Information Certificate

Schedule of Board Meetings

Registration

Call for Nominations

This month we begin the process of electing professional representatives to the Board of the College. Three positions will be vacant, two for a three year and one for a two year term. The election will be conducted in accordance with sections five and six of the Bylaws.

Nomination procedures:

Any Active Registrant may nominate up to four Registrants for election.

Nominees must be registered in the Active category and be in good standing.

Each nominee must submit a letter of consent declaring that s/he will observe and uphold the provisions of the Act, regulations, bylaws and the procedures and conduct of the election.

The nomination, with the letter of consent, must be received, not later than 3:00 pm, on Thursday January 15, in the College office.

Election Procedures:

Each Active Registrant will receive one ballot with the names of the nominees listed on the ballot.

Each Active Registrant may vote in favour of one nominee for each position to be filled.

Ballots must be received, not later than 3:00 pm, on Thursday February 19, 1998.

The nominees receiving the most votes will be deemed elected.

In the event that only three nominations are received, those nominees will be deemed elected by acclamation.

Fees for 1998

The operating budget for the College was published in the last edition of the Articulator. September represents the midpoint of the fiscal year. We are very pleased to report that the College is operating under budget. At the end of six months, the College was operating at 48% of revenue. The first six months is the busiest time of year. This period included a number of extraordinary expenses, such as moving expenses and an unscheduled Board meeting to deal with Ombudsman inquiries. Cost projections place the College within its revenues at year end.

The Board is pleased to announce that there will not be an increase in the administration fee for any category of registration for the fiscal year ending March 1999.

Meetings and minutes

All meetings of the Board and its Committees are open and public meetings. The Board anticipates meeting on the following dates in 1998:

February 13

April 3

May 15

June 5 Annual General Meeting

August 21

December 4

If you are interested in attending a meeting, kindly notify the office so that the agenda and other information may be sent to you prior to the meeting.

Minutes from any Committee or Board meeting are available, subject to FOI/PP Act, please contact the office. Generally there is no charge for this type of information; however, if you are requesting a large volume of material the charges permitted under the Freedom of Information/Protection of Privacy Act will apply. The decision to apply the charges depends on the time required to find, sort and copy the records requested. No charges apply to the time required to remove protected information from requested documents.

Mandate of the College

The mandate of a health profession College is determined by the Health Professions Act.

15.1 It is the duty of the College, at all times, to serve and protect the public and to exercise its powers and discharge its responsibilities under all enactments in the public interest.

The Board of a College is not able to change the Act or the regulation, and must submit Bylaws for approval to the Minister of Health. The Bylaws go through a rigorous review process and must meet the requirements of the government.

There are clear and distinct roles for a health regulatory College that are different than those for a professional association. A College must always act in the best interest of the public and may not promote the profession, other than in a regulatory capacity.

British Columbia has one of the most advanced systems of health regulation in Canada. A system which provides a balance between public protection and due process, which encompasses the rules of natural justice, for the registrants of the College

Inquiry Update

The following is reported pursuant to section 59.4 of the Bylaws.

Two Registrants accepted agreements for the purposes of resolving complaints. The Committee has been able to remedy all complaints to date without a hearing.

Mr. Gerald Eckland accepted the allegation that a non registrant of the College released dentures without prior inspection by a Registrant. A reprimand is to be placed on the Registrant's registration record for a period not exceeding three year, and the Registrant must take action to ensure the activities which led to the complaint cease.

Mr. Tom Sulek agreed with the allegation that he provided a partial denture to two patients in contravention of the Denturist Regulation. A reprimand is to be placed on the Registrant's registration record for a period not exceeding five years. Further, the Registrant agreed to not repeat the conduct so long as it is specifically prohibited by Regulation, to reimburse the patients for costs related to an examination if the patients wished, to pay an assessment of $350 for Committee costs, and pay a fine of $1000 per partial denture.

WHAT IS QUALITY ASSURANCE ALL ABOUT?

What's quality assurance all about? It is the way the College, a regulatory body, goes about meeting its mandate "to service and protect the public". In order to serve and protect the public the College must focus both on competency and conduct. How does it go about doing this? Every profession is required to develop and maintain a number of mechanisms for addressing beginning competency, ongoing competency and appropriate conduct. As well, every professional College is required to have a Quality Assurance Committee.

The inserts contained with this Newsletter outline the elements of the College of Denturists of BC's quality assurance program. As well, guidelines completed to date related to continuing education are included. You will note a few changes in these. One change is that the category for direct credits has been redefined to ensure that the major focus of continuing education remains on the patient care aspect of denturism. That means that educational activities such as non-dental medical emergencies now qualify for indirect credits rather than direct credits. Another change is that the condition of passing the licensing exams has been removed when registrants are writing these as a continuing education activity. Further, activities that qualify as continuing education have been expanded to include study clubs and independent study. Also, criteria for qualifying educational activity leaders and others, and a process for pre-approval of educational activities have been developed. In addition to its ongoing tasks of reviewing requests for continuing education credits, the Quality Assurance Committee is developing programs related to office review, mentoring, and study clubs.

How will we know that the College is achieving its mandate to serve and protect the public? A significant task for the Quality Assurance Committee currently underway is the development of quality indicators. These will be the measuring sticks for comparing trends in quality over time. As well, we eventually want to be able to compare the level of quality of the registrants of the College of Denturists of BC to other regulatory bodies.

A summary of tasks both underway and completed by the Quality Assurance Committee is included with the inserts. If you have any questions related to quality assurance, please call one of the members of the committee listed below.

Frieda Home (Chair) 604-228-8180

Ken Manson (Past Chair) 250-426-6862

Peter Hodson (Registrant) 604-521-0233

Jim Connolly (Non Voting) 604-876-3029

The Articulator is the Newsletter of the College of Denturists. Information is meant to be as accurate as possible. In the event of a disagreement the Act, Regulation, and/or Bylaws will prevail.

Letters to the Editor are welcome.

John Mayr

Editor

The Articulator

#305 321 Sixth Street, New Westminster BC, V3L 4A5

Renewal of Registration

The time is quickly approaching for license renewals. To be eligible to renew your license you must complete the following:

Quality Assurance Requirements

All Active registrants are required to complete the quality assurance program requirements prior to the end of December. The requirement is not less than 30 hours in three years, and not less than five hours in each year. The three year cycle ends December 1998. Section 44.2 of the Bylaws states:

Registrants are not entitled to renew their registration unless they have files with the quality assurance Committee, prior to January 1 preceding the registration deadline, proof of having completed the required number of hours of an approved course of continuing education.

If you have taken a course and have not submitted a request for credit please do so immediately.

Liability Insurance

All Active Registrants are required to demonstrate proof of malpractice insurance coverage, with your payment, to ensure your ability to practice is not interrupted. Section 46 of the Bylaws states that:

Each Active Registrant must be insured against professional liability in an amount of at least $2 million per occurrence.

We are advised that the Denturist Association will submit the required documentation on behalf of its members.

Criminal Record Review

Each year, as part of the renewal process, Active Registrants will be required to sign a declaration stating that their criminal record status has not changed in the previous year. A new criminal record review form is required whenever a registrants criminal record status changes.

Fees

The administration fee will not increase for the 1998 -1999 license year. The fees are listed within section 55 of the Bylaws:

Active registration $ 800 Inactive registration $200 Student registration $50

Invoices for fees will be sent in February, payment is required before April 1.

Discipline Surcharge

As of this writing no additional Discipline Surcharge fees will be levied. The account has a balance of $91,800. The Board feels that the outstanding amount can be achieved through interest payments and new Registrants to the College.

Public Information Certificate

Public knowledge of and accessibility to a health profession College is an important aspect of professional regulation. An effort must be made, by a College, to inform the public of the existence of the regulator. Some examples include; public service notices, display advertising, telephone directory listings, 800 telephone access, and internet access sites. The Board decided that one of the most effective and direct methods was to use a posted certificate within a Registrant's office. This approached best meets the needs of the public and the College and is the most cost effective.

During the previous annual general meeting some Registrants expressed concern about having to display the certificate and the wording of the certificate. The number of complaints has not increased since displaying the certificate became a requirement. The Board is committed to its responsibility to ensure public accessibility; however they will consider changes to the wording of the certificate. A variation of the certificate is below. The Board would appreciate comments and other suggestions from Registrants.

Clinical Oral Pathology

A group of 13 Registrant recently attended a Clinical Oral Pathology Program and challenged the examination. The Registration Committee and the other members of the Board wish to extend congratulations to the following successful candidates:

Paul Biddle

Charles Farcnik

Francisco Gino

Ralph Hess

George Hygh

Philip Landsberger

Peter Mallabon

Herb Schaper

Rudy Tuschek

Herb West

PENALTY SURVEY

Earlier this year the Discipline Committee conducted a survey related to setting penalties following a disciplinary hearing. The survey was sent to all registrants, other provinces' denturist regulators, and select related professional colleges and associations. Twenty seven Registrants, two provincial organizations, and four colleges or associations responded to the survey.

Results are being analyzed by a panel of registrants made up of Ron Postings (Chair), Doug Hengel, and Tom Rivers. Penalty guidelines will be developed and submitted to the Discipline Committee for approval. More information will be provided as the guidelines are developed.

EXAMINATION SCHEDULE

The Registration Committee will be offering opportunities for eligible candidates to challenge licensure theory exams. Theory examinations have been tentatively scheduled on February 16,1998 and June 15,1998. The examination is a compensatory exam based on the standards of practice. A list of reference textbooks is available from the office. To be eligible all candidates must be approved by the Registration Committee.

A Practical Exam opportunity has been tentatively scheduled for July 13 - 17 inclusive. Candidates must have successfully completed the theory examination and the internship. Information packages may be requested from the College office.