The HPA defines competence as the combined knowledge, skills, attitudes, and judgement required to provide professional services. SLPs and audiologists have an obligation, as per the Standards of Practice, to maintain and enhance their competence to provide professional services throughout the course of their practice.
Continually increasing competence for regulated members includes:
- Participating in appropriate learning activities to maintain their competence to practice and acquiring/enhancing their competence in new areas of practice.
- Limiting their practice until necessary competencies have been obtained.
- Participating in the College’s Continuing Competence Program.
Under the HPA, participation in the CCP is:
- mandatory for all regulated members who apply to renew their registration as a practicing member on the general register; and
- a requirement for practice permit renewal.
Non-compliance with the CCP may be deemed as unprofessional conduct. A regulated member who fails to participate in the CCP is at risk of having conditions applied to their practice permit and/or not having their practice permit renewed, thereby not allowing them to practice. The program is designed to address the continuing competence needs of all regulated members regardless of their practice setting, or whether they are in clinical or non-clinical roles.
The CCP is designed to engage regulated members in maintaining and enhancing their competence, to assess members’ engagement in activities that maintain or enhance their competence, and to support members whose competence to practice may be at risk.
The CCP is comprised of three components:
The CCP activities were designed to be adaptable, allowing regulated members to reflect on competence as it relates to their unique practice, work environment, and learning style. The activities are shown below.
| CCP Activities | ||
|---|---|---|
| Continuing Education Report
Regulated members must indicate the continuing education activities undertaken during the practice year and describe how these activities impacted their competence to practice. |
Peer Dialogue Reflection
Regulated members must describe how the advice, guidance, and/or support from a peer impacted their competence to practice. |
Risks & Supports Profile
Regulated members must complete a checklist of risks and supports to their practice and describe how the risks and supports identified impact their competence to practice. |
Note: CCP activities are an indirect measure of practitioners’ competence; it is used by ACSLPA as an indicator that people are engaging in competence enhancing activities throughout the year.
An audit or review of regulated members’ CCP submissions takes place annually. It is designed to identify regulated members whose written CCP submissions indicate that they did not satisfactorily complete the required CCP activities in the practice year. The audit takes place on a 5-year cycle, so that every regulated member on the General – Practicing Register is audited once every five years. Regulated members who are unable to meet the requirements in their written CCP submission are referred to the practice assessment stage of the CCP.
The purposes of the practice assessment are to:
- better understand the regulated member’s submission and how well it reflects on the regulated member’s engagement in the CCP activities meant to promote competence;
- determine whether the regulated member meets ACSLPA’s minimum competence to practice standards in their provision of professional services; and
- provide support and guidance to the regulated member to meet minimum competence requirements when required.
The practice assessment is comprised of three progressive stages:
| Interview |
⇒ |
Record Review |
⇒ |
On-Site Practice Visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Provides an opportunity to verbally provide additional or clarifying information that strengthens the written CCP submission. |
|
|
The overall flow of the practice assessment is outlined below:
Exits: Note that there are potential exit points after each stage of the practice assessment. Regulated members who meet the criteria for successful completion at each stage will exit the CCP, while those who do not meet criteria will be referred on to the next stage.
Remediation Plan: A remediation plan may also be developed for regulated members who undergo the record review or on-site practice visit assessment stages. Remediation plans target any practice area where the member does not meet the minimum requirements for successful completion of the practice assessment stage, but where minor deficiencies are observed[2] .
[2] Minor Deficiencies are defined as behaviors causing no risk of harm or minimal risk of harm to clients and can likely be remediated within a short timeframe (i.e. within the practice year).
Regulated members are expected to comply with all components of the College’s CCP. Failure to complete the CCP or unsatisfactory completion of any portion of the College’s CCP will result in the regulated member being referred to ACSLPA’s Competence Committee.
These referrals include situations where the regulated member:
- does not respond to communication attempts from ACSLPA staff, interviewers, or assessors regarding their CCP submission or practice assessment;
- does not submit the required records for review, if referred to the record review stage of the practice assessment;
- does not submit evidence of completion of their remediation within the specified timeframe;
- unsatisfactorily completes their remediation plan (e.g. partial completion of remediation activities in their plan or completing a reflection that does not demonstrate that any learning or changes to practice occurred); or
- demonstrates competence concerns or a lack of competence during their on-site visit.
In response to noncompliance or unsatisfactory completion of the CCP, the Competence
Committee may take a number of actions including:
- directing the regulated member to undertake one or more remediation activities within a specified period;
- imposing conditions on the regulated member’s practice permit, e.g., that the regulated member practice under supervision, or that their practice be limited to specified areas of practice;
- referring the member to the Complaints Director as a complaint; or
- directing the Registrar to suspend the regulated member’s registration and practice permit.
Information related to participation in a Continuing Competence Program, including information disclosed in forms and documentation, is confidential, unless the Competence Committee feels a referral to the Complaints Director is necessary based on information obtained through the Continuing Competence Program that:
- the regulated member has intentionally provided false or misleading information;
- the regulated member displays a lack of competence that has not been remedied by participating in a Continuing Competence Program;
- the regulated member may be incapacitated; or
- the conduct of the regulated member constitutes unprofessional conduct that cannot be readily remedied by means of a Continuing Competence Program.
Information related to a failure or refusal to comply with the requirements of the Continuing Competence Program is not confidential and is considered unprofessional conduct and may result in sanctions.
For more information on the CCP, please see the:
Standards of Practice, Area 3.0 – Continuing Competence Program
Continuing Competence Program Manual
See ACSLPA website for additional resources.