Welcome to 2025! I hope everyone enjoyed the end of 2024 and was able to relax with friends and family over the holidays. As we have been getting back into the swing of things, the College has been busy with some important regulatory responsibilities.

Last year, I mentioned that we had started conducting Professional Liability Insurance (PLI) record reviews. This year, we have refined the process to make it as smooth of an experience as possible. As you know, every regulated healthcare practitioner in Alberta must carry their own professional liability insurance – and paramedics are no different. While it is an important regulatory requirement, it is also a safety net for members by covering legal fees and potential damages in case of allegations of negligence or malpractice.

In an effort to make this process easier for all, we asked all members to upload their PLI certificates during renewal in September, and again at the end of December for those whose PLI was set to expire at that time. We are now going through these uploaded certificates, verifying the information provided and identifying any abnormalities. When we find these, we contact members to make sure that information is updated to ensure active policies are in place. Very rarely are these situations anything more than data entry mistakes/errors, which are typically a quick fix. Over the next month or two, if you receive an email from the College about your PLI policy, please follow the instructions provided, log into your portal and review for any possible errors.

In November, the 2023/2024 CC record audit began and this year we randomly selected 1,000 members to participate. Those selected had until January 14 to supply supporting documentation for their claimed CC activities. We are thrilled to see 927 participants submitted all their documentation successfully and were approved in the early stages. We will work with the remaining 73 members as the Competence Committee evaluates any forms that require further review and provides feedback and guidance to those regulated members. We anticipate that the audit will be officially completed by the end of February. I would like to extend a sincere thank you to all who participated and submitted their documents on time. Your cooperation helps ensure a smooth and straightforward process.

In my last message, I also shared updates on the new education curriculum. We are continuing to work with our educators and the Ministers of Health and Advanced Education to develop this program. Once complete, this curriculum will integrate a more unified education delivery across the province and reflect the current and future practice of paramedicine. As paramedics, we all know that our profession has changed significantly over the years, and we recognize that the way we prepare new members for this profession must change with it. We also acknowledge that career pathways in healthcare will expand with more advanced education. I know you all want details, so please be assured that we will continue to update you all as more information becomes available.

Lastly, we are pleased to see many of you making use of the Learning Management System (LMS) launched by the College in October of 2024. At this time, we have one course on Regulatory Knowledge live on this platform, which can be accessed for free by all members. This course covers various areas of regulation pertaining to the paramedicine profession and can be taken each year for 12 CE credits, so I encourage you all to check it out. We are working on developing more courses to make online CC learning even more accessible, so please keep an eye on our LMS site; we expect to have a new module up within the next six months.

I will wrap up this message by thanking you for the dedication you channel into your work every day and wishing you all the best in the coming year. Take care and stay safe,

Tim A. Ford, ACP
Registrar