New CCP Rules, New CCP

Thank you to all denturists who provided feedback in the consultation for the new Rules for the Continuing Competence Program (CCP).  The new Rules were approved by Council at their November meeting and come into force for January 1, 2021.

There are two areas of the CCP which are seeing the biggest change:

I. Historically, all regulated members have had to submit all of their continuing competence activities to the Registrar for approval. This has, over the years, transitioned from a proactive to a retroactive approval.  In this, there is no substantive or educational value provided to the member.

Starting with the 2020 renewal period, the College is initiating a two-phased approach to validate regulated members’ CCP compliance.

• At renewal, the Registrar will look into a regulated member’s record to verify that they have recorded the minimum number of hours required by the legislation and the Rules to be eligible for renewal of their practice permit. This is purely a quantitative measure and the Registrar will not be evaluating the substance or relevance of your entries.  If the regulated member attests that they have met the requirements of the CCP for that year and the Registrar can see that they have recorded the appropriate number of hours, it will be considered that the member has met the CCP requirements for renewal.  If either of these parts are not met, further information will be sought from the member.
• Each spring, a random sample of regulated members will be chosen by a computer to undergo a qualitative validation of their CCP. In this, the Registration Committee will be granted access by the member to evaluate the relevance of the member’s learning in relation to their role as a denturist. Proof of learning will be required to be submitted by the member for each activity.  This may be in the form of a certificate or transcript or, if neither of those are available nor an option, in the form of a self-reflection.

In moving to a validation system, the College is putting trust in the members.  This process change is not meant to be a threat, but actually the exact opposite.  It is reliant on member’s professionalism and honesty to be effective and of value to the members and the College.

II. Up until now, in order for members to use their learning for their CCP, they have had to be able to provide hard, formal proof in the form of a certificate, diploma, transcript or the like. This requirement does not align with some of the principles in adult learning.

One of the biggest challenges in being a regulated healthcare professional in completing our CCP hours is not the actual learning; but, recognizing that we are learning.  In any health profession, you cannot go a day without learning something – whether it be a new software application, a technique to make your life or the patient’s easier or something as simple as trying to better understand your patient’s circumstance or pathology, learning is constant.  As healthcare providers, we simply don’t make that connection – it’s just what we do in our role, because we value what we do and want the best for our patients, our colleagues and our businesses.  Chances are this intermittent or daily learning is not accompanied by a certificate or any kind of proof, other than the fact that you know you have learned something that is valuable to your professional practice.

In recognition for this informal, yet highly valuable, learning, the College will accept a self-reflection as “proof” of your learning in lieu of a certificate or transcript. A self-reflection is a statement or a couple of sentences that explain how what you learned has or may have impact on your practice.  It explains how what you learned is relevant to what you do in your role as a denturist. In a self-reflection, it is always valuable to include a specific example.

Examples

Activity: I took a QuickBooks course online through…

• Self-reflection: I am implementing QuickBooks in my clinic and now I am able to facilitate payment more efficiently to my vendor

Activity: I attended the NAIT precepting course

• Self-reflection: I have a third-year denturist student in my clinic and now I am able to provide them with effective feedback in alignment with what NAIT requires.

Activity: I researched xerostomia treatments

• Self-reflection: I am now able to provide information and options for patients who I see with xerostomia

To accompany these new Rules, the new CCP Guide is available on the website here: CCP Program Information

Watch for more information in the new year.