College of Licensed Practical Nurses of B.C.

Information about the BCCDC online course is HERE AND a big congratulations to the successful candidates

**IMPORTANT NEWS:** Immunization and Scope of Practice for Nursing Professions

In order to maximize surge capacity across the Province and ensure each practitioner is working to full scope of practice in the Prevention and Treatment of Influenza Like Illness, the Ministry of Health Services has produced a document to clarity Scope of Practice for BC Nurses (Nurse Practitioners, Registered Nurses, Registered Psychiatric Nurses and Licensed Practical Nurses). Below is an extract pertaining specifically to LPN's. The entire document can be found here.

LPN's

Immunization
Under the Nurses (Licensed Practical) Regulation, Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs) have authority to administer intramuscular and subcutaneous injections within their knowledge, skill and ability. These activities must be carried out under the direction of a physician, nurse practitioner or the supervision of a RN.

In order to provide immunizations, LPNs must adhere to the standards, limits and conditions established by the College of Licensed Practical Nurses of BC (CLPNBC) which include following decision support tools established by the BC Centre for Disease Control. These decision support tool can be found at: http://www.bccdc.ca/dis-cond/comm-manual/CDManualChap2.htm

The limits and conditions are:
• LPNs must have successfully completed an immunization course approved by the CLPNBC
• LPNs may only administer immunizations to clients four (4) years of age and over

LPNs are responsible to assess and determine whether a specific client is eligible to receive an immunization(s) and are accountable for their decisions. LPNs are responsible for consulting with and/or seeking clinical guidance from an RN or physician who must be in the same facility as the LPN administering the immunization.

Antivirals
LPNs may administer antivirals for prevention purposes with an order from a physician or nurse practitioner.

LPNs may dispense or administer antivirals for treatment purposes with an order from a physician or nurse practitioner.

Criminal Record Review Act Mandatory Requirement for 2010

Registrants with last names beginning with the letters "K" through "O" are required to complete and return the CRRA authorization forn as part of the 2010 renewal process. The Government requires the College to ensure that every registrant undergoes the CRRA check every five years. The authorization form was included with the renewal form or mailed separately to registrants that renewed online. Please note the following:

The form is customized for CLPNBC registrants
Complete PART 1 and sign and date the form
There is only ONE page
The original form must be returned to the College
Renewals will not be processed until the form is received
Online renewals will be cancelled and fees refunded on December 15, 2009 if the form has not been received

Online Renewal Now Active

The online renewal form for 2010 is now active. Renewing online is quick, safe, and secure. Avoid the last minute rush and those end of year bills.

Questions about practice?

Recent changes in utilization of registrants has resulted in lots of questions. We've updated our contact list for practice consultations. Click here to access contact information page.

Senior Nurse Practice Consultant & Nurse Practice Consultant positions
The College ha!s openings for a Senior Practice Consultant and a Nurse Practice Consultant. Click Here to access information about these exciting opportunities.

Baseline Competency Profile - consultation draft
Is now available from the 'What's New' link.

Amended Bylaws are now available and fully up-to-date. Click Here to get your copy.

Immunization Certification

LPNs are completing the course and additional spaces are opening. Please read the information below about how to obtain your CWL account. We are working hard to accommodate all user requests as soon as possible. Keep your emails coming

The College of License Practical Nurses of BC is pleased to announce that it has partnered with the BC Centre for Disease Control to provide access to the BCCDC's online immunization and vaccination training program. This is an exciting opportunity for LPNs to contribute to the ImmunizeBC, the provincial-wide program to increase the capacity of the health care system with additional professionals with the training and qualifications to provide vaccination and immunization services.

BC Centres for Disease Control created the course as the gold standard for training of vaccination providers. In addition to public health nurses, LPNs join registered nurses and pharmacists in being able to take the course.

The online portion of the program generally takes 8 hours after which participants must complete an online exam. In order to successfully complete the course, LPNs are required to obtain a score of 100% on the open-book exam. This is the same score as for registered and public health nurses.

To obtain certification, LPNs are requierd to have the clinical skills checklist completed by a RN who is certified to provide immunizations in BC. Educational Institutions may also provide courses to The Clinical Skills Checklist requirement may also be met by attending a course offered by an educational institution. Registrants may be required to pay a portion of the clinical skills training depending on final costs associated with this component.

To complete the certification process the College must receive a completed copy of the Immunization Skills Checklist

At its September meeting, the Board of the College approved total funding to support this initiative in an amount not to exceed $95,000. A portion of these funds will be paid to the BCCDC for access to the online program. These funds may also be used to offset the cost of the skills component. The Board realizes that this is a time of unprecedented demand.

Access to the online course will be provided free of charge to LPNs with full registration until March 31, 2010 on a pre-registration and time limited access basis only. After March, the CLPNBC will have to renegotiate continued access with the Centre for Disease Control. The College may also provide funding to support the clinical skills component for the same period or until the maximum funds designated by the Board for this purposes have been spent.

Due to factors beyond the control of the CLPNBC, there are technical limitations with regards to the number of users that can be signed onto the course at any one time. In respect of all the users of the course, CLPNBC will limit the number of LPNs with access to the course at any one time to 60. Each registrant will be expected to complete the online program including the exam within 10 days. LPNs who register for the course will be required to sign an agreement to this effect. After 10 days, user access may be suspended by the College without further notice.

As it is anticipated that there will be high demand for the course, a number of spots will be designated for LPNs from areas of the province identified as having a greater shortage of health care professional qualified to administer immunization, LPNs working with FNIH, and who can provide proof of access to clinical skills training component.

Interested LPNs note that this is an intensive online course that requires high speed internet access. The CLPNBC is exploring options for registrants with dial up or no internet access. Please scroll down to find a PDF overview of the course.

The College is responsible for all administrative activities for LPNS and has dedicated staff to oversee the registration and certification. A campus wide login (CWL) is required to access the course. Please follow the instructions in the files CWL Part 1 and Part 2 immediately below and follow the instructions in part 14.

Please note, an up-to-date version of Adobe Acrobat is required to open the PDF files. If the file will not open, please update your software. Acrobat Reader is available here

Associated documents - click to download

CWLPart1.pdf (Approx 566K)

CWLPart2.pdf (Approx 603K)

Immunization Competency Program Overview.pdf (Approx 134K)

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New H1N1 Web Resource for Nurses

Message from the Provincial Chief Nurse Executive

Re: Nurse web resource for H1N1

I am pleased to inform you that the Ministries of Healthy Living & Sport and Health Services have launched a new web resource for BC Nurses (Registered Nurses, Nurse Practitioners, Registered Psychiatric Nurses and Licensed Practical Nurses) with information and resources to support nursing practice related to H1N1 influenza virus.

In the H1N1 influenza situation, as with any evolving situation, there is debate in the public health and clinical communities as to the best practises required to prevent and treat this illness. Many experts from B.C., Canada and around the world publish guidelines and advice, some of which changes over time with new information and may appear to be contradictory.
In B.C. we work closely with our partners, including the Office of the Provincial Health Officer, health authorities, College of Registered Nurses of British Columbia, College of Registered Psychiatric Nurses of British Columbia, College of Licensed Practical Nurses of British Columbia and others to provide accurate and timely information for nurses and the public. I recommend that nurses consult with their regulatory college to confirm standards, limits and conditions for practice.
The information posted on the Nursing web resource will be reviewed by government clinical and nursing staff to ensure an expert review of the materials posted to this site. Throughout the influenza season my office will update and revise this information as necessary.
I encourage you to become familiar with, and inform your colleagues of the nursing web resource which can be accessed at:
www.gov.bc.ca/h1n1/healthcareproviders/index.html

Sincerely,

Brenda Canitz B.A., B.ScN., M.Sc.
Chief Nurse Executive and Executive Director Innovation and Transformation

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CRNBC

You can access the CRNBC's library by clicking on the link below:

CRNBC Library

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2010 Conference/AGM

Next year's Conference/AGM will be held on Thursday, 10th June 2010 so please mark the date in your calendars! We are also moving the meeting to the Italian Cultural Centre in East Vancouver!

More information will become available in the New Year so watch this space.

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2009 Election Results

The successfull candidates by district were:

District 1: Kathy NDUWAYO

District 2: Janet VEREECKEN

District 3: Muriel OVERTON

District 4: Jillian CHISHOLM

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2008 Audited Financial Statements now available

The members of the Board and executive director for the College are pleased to release the results of the audit for the year ended December 2008. This year, the College used a combined method for complying with the notice requirements under the Bylaws. Registrants with email addresses received email notification and those without email addresses received a post card advising that the results are available.

Users may download the PDF version of the financial statements or, to obtain a printed copy, please contact the office 604-660-5750 or toll-free 1-888-440-6900.

Associated documents - click to download

FS-Website.PDF (Approx 113K)

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CLPNBC complies with AIT and TILMA

The College has met the BC government's expectations and committments under the Federal Agreement on Internal Trade and the Trade, Investment, and Labour Mobility Agreement with Alberta.

Click here to read the compliance statement.

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LPNs & RNs - Working Together for Client Safety

Over the past year, the College of Licensed Practical Nurses of BC and the College of Registered Nurses of BC have held several joint web conferences entitled "Practice Expectations." These were so well received that now, instead of the web conferences, CLPNBC and CRNBC have worked together to develop a comprehensive web resource entitled "RNs and LPNs - Working Together for Client Safety". This means the information previously shared during the web conferences is now accessible online, at any time.

click here to access the document

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