The Continuing Competence (CC) program can be an area of confusion for many members. It is always beneficial to cover some common areas of confusion for members.
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Today, we will be going over what is considered relevant to your practice. When choosing activities or courses to take, there are two options: Continuing Education (CE) or Self-Directed (SD). CE courses are approved by the College and you can find a comprehensive list in the member portal. SD activities are defined as anything ‘relevant to your practice’.
So, to dive into that, ‘relevant’ is anything that enhances your practice, is beneficial or directly essential to the responsibilities of your work, has an impact on your role, and/or pertains to any of the requirements of your professional standards, the ever-evolving needs across diverse practice settings and in the communities you serve.
This will look different from member to member because practice settings and job responsibilities are vastly different.
For example, a member working in rural would have emergencies different to those in the urban settings. Members working in integrated fire would have different definitions of relevant to their practice than those in administration. However, that is not to say that you could not find interests in taking courses that would be outside your immediate setting to gain education and or keep up to date on practices you may not be currently engaged in.
We encourage you to take courses and educational opportunities to enhance your practice, but we also don’t want you to feel limited in what they can take if there are opportunities of growth that interest you.
What would not be considered ‘relevant’ to your practice, would be activities that cannot enhance your practice or build on your future practice. For example, the Competence Committee would not accept a course on art history as relevant to your practice.
Here are some aspects to consider that would/could be relevant to your practice:
- Medical Knowledge and Skills
- Clinical Decision-Making
- Operational Proficiency (scene management, equipment usage, transportation, etc.)
- Communication Skills (patient interactions, teamwork, documentation, etc.)
- Legal and Ethical Considerations (confidentiality, consent, scope of practice, etc.)
- Diversity of Communities, Culture and Special Situations
- Continuing Education and Professional Development (ongoing training, quality improvement, etc.)
- Personal Attributes (physical fitness, emotional resilience, empathy and compassion, etc.)
Each of these elements ensures that you are well-equipped to provide high-quality emergency care, respond to a wide range of medical emergencies and navigate the complexities of pre-hospital settings. Being well-versed in these areas is critical to perform duties effectively, safely and ethically.
If you have any questions about the CC program, please contact CC@ABparamedics.com.