The COBC was established under the Health Professions Act (HPA) in 1994 with a duty to serve and protect the public by regulating opticians, as well as to fulfill its responsibilities in the public interest.
The HPA required each health regulatory organization to develop and administer a quality assurance program. Quality assurance (QA) programming supports and promotes high practice standards amongst health practitioners and ensures that the public’s trust is well placed.
Opticians are entrusted by the public to provide safe, effective and ethical health care at all times throughout their careers. They meet entry-to-practice competencies when they are first registered and continue to meet various benchmarks and/or constructions of competence as they progress in their career, with the help of QA programming.
The COBC has recently transitioned its QA programming from a credit-based program to a new competency-based program. The new Continuing Competency Program (CCP) was launched in 2018, and fully implemented in 2020.
The Continuing Competency Program (CCP) is one of several quality assurance initiatives we’ve designed to promote quality practice for the public’s protection and to maintain their trust in BC opticians.
We’ve developed the CCP to provide opticians with the data they’ll need to better focus on their professional progress. It will also provide them with the tools needed to help them plan their growth through learning goals.
The competency-based CCP launched as the COBC’s new quality assurance program in 2018, replacing the credits-based system previously used. Opticians are no longer required to meet credit requirements. Instead, the new CCP will help opticians continue to be a competent professional by:
- Finding out which competencies opticians are exemplary in, are moderate in, or require development in.
- Creating a development learning plan to focus an optician’s professional development.
- Providing the opportunity for professional growth reflection.
The process is broken down into 4 steps:
- Continuing Competency Assessment
At the start of each continuing competency cycle, opticians will complete an online assessment based on the National Competencies for Canadian Opticians. The online assessment generates a competency profile that highlights an optician’s strong competencies and areas for development. This competency profile will help opticians identify what they need to work on and help direct opticians to the appropriate activities to plan their professional growth in those areas.
- Develop Learning Goals with Plans
Opticians will work on at least 6 learning goals over their 3-year cycle, based on their competencies that need development. These goals will be SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely), and will provide focus and direction for opticians throughout their cycle. Opticians will plan out which activities to participate in to achieve their learning goals and develop their competency.
- Achieving Learning Goals
Opticians will then follow through with their plan to achieve the goal they set out to achieve. Completing the activities as planned will determine whether the desired learning has been accomplished. Opticians will make their own choices and decisions regarding these activities, and what it might take to learn what they set out to, and how to put in into practice.
- Reflection
After completing their action plan, opticians will then reflect on how these activities helped to develop their skills and improve their practice. This step will allow opticians to think deeply about what they learned, or perhaps what they need to learn further, and how they might get there. At least 6 goals will need to be completed by the end of the cycle.
Opticians will be able to manage their continuing competency online through their registrant profile, including their assessment and their full learning plan, to track their progress and mark it complete when finished.
The new CCP will assure the public that their opticians are staying competent throughout their career.
For more information, including a full program guide and list of frequently asked questions, please access our Guides & Tools page. For more information on using study clubs within the new program, click here.
Optician Online CCP Login:
Opticians can login to access and work on their CCP at anytime, by clicking “Opticians Login” in the top right corner of the screen.