User:Rlytho/Working/Nursing Designations by Jurisdiction (Canada)/British Columbia

Parent: 🗃Nursing Designations by Jurisdiction (Canada)

Regulatory college amalgamation
"In September 2018, the province's three nursing regulatory colleges — the College of Licensed Practical Nurses of British Columbia (CLPNBC), the College of Registered Nurses of British Columbia (CRNBC), and the College of Psychiatric Nurses of British Columbia (CRPNBC) — amalgamated into a single regulatory college that now regulates all nursing professionals. The British Columbia College of Nursing Professionals (BCCNP)"

Employed student registrant & employed student psychiatric nurse
The following applies only to bachelor of science in nursing (BSN) students and employed student psychiatric nurses. In British Columbia, if an employed student registrant or an employed student psychiatric nurse is employed in a health care setting and carrying out nursing activities, they must hold employed student registration with BCCNP. They must work under the supervision of a named registered nurse or registered psychiatric nurse. Employed student registrants and employed student psychiatric nurses must be enrolled in good standing in an entry-level nursing or psychiatric nursing education program during the employment period.

Licensed graduate nurse (LGN) [prior to 1990—now deprecated]
License​​d Graduate Nurses (LGN) are a class of nurses granted LGN registration in B.C. prior to Oct. 1, 1990. An LGN registrant may perform or provi​de services as if he or she is a registered nurse registrant.

Licensed practical nurse (LPN)
LPNs are health care professionals. Most work as frontline nurses caring for a wide range of clients at all stages of life. LPNs provide nursing services ranging from health pr​omotion, to acute care, to long-term and palliative care. LPNs work in collaboration with other members of the health care team. Their education and practice — while rooted in the same body of knowledge as other nurses — focuses on foundational competencies within the LPN  scope of practice and ​standards.

Nurse practitioner programs (NP)
Nurse practitioners (NP) were first regulated in B.C. in 2005. NPs must meet advanced requirements to register as NPs and use the NP title. These nursing professionals are usually educated in a master's program. Nurse practitioners:


 * are regulated for reasons of public safety and to support a sustainable health care system
 * are not substitutions for physicians but their roles complement one another in order to improve patient access
 * when NPs and physicians work together, the physicians can focus on more complex diagnosis and treatment of diseases
 * bring the nursing focus of teaching, counseling and support to the diagnostic and treatment they provide

work in many practice settings and within a flexible regulatory system that provides strong educational preparation, rigorous registration requirements, and rigorous practice oversight In B.C. there are three 'streams' that NPs can be registered in:


 * family — infants to older adults
 * adult — adults and older adults
 * pediatrics — infants to adolescents

Registered nurse (RN)
BCCNP sets the entry level requirements for anyone applying for registration as an RN in B.C. This means that the c​ollege works with universitie​​s and colleges to review their nursing education programs so that anyone studying to become a registered nurse will be prepared to pass the required registration exam. To become registered in British Columbia a person must have completed a baccalaureate​ nursing education program, met competence requirements, passed the registration exam and consented to a criminal record check. Nursing abilities are based in four categories:


 * 1) Professional Responsibility and Accountability
 * 2) Self-Regulation
 * 3) Knowledge-based Practice
 * 4) Client-Focused Provision of Service
 * 5) Ethical Practice  The client is the person central to a​​ll nursing practice.

Registered nurse with certified practice (RN-C)
BCCNP-certified practices are carried out independently and the RN is solely accountable for the diagnosis and treatment of the client. RNs who successfully complete a certified practice course and evaluation approved by BCCNP must then apply to BCCNP for certified-practice designation. In addition, to remain on the register, nurses must annually meet the continuing competence requirements for certified practice. With BCCNP-certification an RN can diagnose some diseases and disorders and carry out some restricted activities independently that would otherwise require an order.

Categories of certified practice:


 * Remote Nursing Practice — these RNs work in communities where there is no resident physician or nurse practitioner. Physicians or nurse practitioners visit the community periodically and are available to provide consultation to the registered nurse.
 * Reproductive Health, Contraceptive Management — these RNs work in a variety of health care settings providing safe assessment, provision and management of Combined Hormonal Contraception (CHC) and Progestin-only Hormonal Contraception (POC).
 * Reproductive Health, Sexually Transmitted Infections — RNs with this certified practice designation diagnose and treat various sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
 * RN First Call — These RNs are commonly seen in small acute care hospitals, diagnostic and treatment centres and other settings where there is physician or Nurse Practitioner (NP) service available in the community.

Recent changes to regulation
Feb 26, 2020 Updated March 4, 2020

BCCNP is pleased to announce it is transferring responsibility for the review and maintenance of the Certified Practice Decision Support Tools (DSTs) and Competencies to the Nurses and Nurse Practitioners of BC (NNPBC). This change is in line with BCCNP's ongoing efforts to focus on our regulatory mandate.

What is changing?

Effective March 5, 2020 [please note: original date was March 2, transfer was delayed by three days], NNPBC will begin hosting the DSTs on their website at https://portal.nnpbc.com/education/decision-support-tools/. NNPBC will respond to questions about the DSTs and competencies from nurses and other stakeholders, as well as requests for changes to DSTs.

Approved RN-C educational programs in BC
Reproductive Health (STI)


 * B.C. Institute of Technology in partnership with Options for Sexual Health
 * BC Centre for Disease Control

Contraceptive Management​


 * B.C. Institute of Technology in partnership with Options for Sexual Health

RN First Call


 * University of Northern British Columbia

Remote Nursing Practice


 * University of Northern British Columbia

Remote Nursing Certified Practice
This is an online course delivered by distance education over an eighteen-week period. This course work culminates in a one week face-to-face practice workshop and examination.

NURS 458 Course Synopsis

NURS 458 Course Synopsis
NURS 458 – 6 credit course Remote Nursing Certified Practice [...]

This course is for Registered Nurses seeking Remote Nursing Certification through CRNBC. It is one of three courses required to be certified for work in remote communities in British Columbia. [...]

Students are required to follow a prescribed course schedule and should budget approximately 20-25 hours per week for study time, reading, and assignments.[...]

This course includes 15 weeks of online theory and a face-to-face workshop and examination

BC Centre for Disease Control: Reproductive Health (STI)
online component time estimate based on the below:


 * low end: 5 modules x 1 week/module x 4 hours/week = 20 hours
 * high end: 5 modules x 3 week/module x 6 hours/week = 90 hours

+ 18 hours of clinical time

= 38 to 108 hours of training==================== STI Certified Practice Online Course

The STI course content is divided into five modules including:

STI Clinical Practice Experience
 * Introduction to STI Practice
 * Sexually Transmitted Infections
 * Sexuality and Communication
 * Clinical Encounter
 * Partner Notification and ReportingA schedule is provided allowing one - three weeks completion time per module depending on the work load in that module. We estimate 4 - 6 hours/week to complete the online theory course. Learner assessment is based on a STI quiz, forum discussion assignment, case study assignment and a cumulative final exam.

There is a 3 day/18 hour clinical practice experience after completion of the online course. Date options for booking are sent mid-way through the course and are scheduled on a first come/first served basis. Over the course of 3 days, nurses are guided through an introduction to STI nursing at the STI Clinic in Vancouver.

This practical experience is an essential component for the completion of the STI Certified Practice Education Program leading to BCCNP STI certification.

Registered psychiatric nurse (RPN)
Registered psychiatric nurses are nurses whose education and practice have a focus on psychosocial, mental or emotional health. They care for people of all ages experiencing issues related to mental health, substance use or​ behavioural addictions. RPNs have advanced mental health assessment and intervention skills. BCCNP sets the entry level requirements for anyone applying for registration as an RPN in B.C. This means that the college works with universities and co​​​lleges to review their psychiatric nursing education programs so that anyone studying to become a registered psychiatric nurse will be prepared to pass the required registration exam. To become registered in British Columbia a person must have completed a psychiatric nursing education program, met competence require​ments, passed the registration exam and consented to a criminal record check. Nursing abilities are based in seven categories:


 * therapeutic relationships and therapeutic use of self
 * evidence-informed knowledge
 * collaborative practice
 * advocacy
 * quality care and client safety
 * health promotion
 * ethical, professional and legal and responsibilities

The client is the person central to all nursing practice.