In 2017, the College of Speech and Hearing Health Professionals of British Columbia conducted a preliminary pilot project for CSHBC’s new Quality Assurance & Professional Practice (QAPP) module on practice reviews. The first pilot involved a sample population of Registered Hearing Instrument Practitioners (RHIPs), and represented the first stage of a multi-phase, multi-year approach to implementation.
Phase 1 began in 2018, with the screening of all RHIPs who weren’t part of the first pilot. For those who are dually registered as Registered Audiologists (RAUDs) and RHIPs, this means that they participated in the RHIP screening first, and a review of their other registered profession (i.e., Audiology) will follow in Phase 3. A final Phase 4 will involve registrants who are practicing their profession but not seeing clients (Administrative/Education).
Phase 1 is nearing completion, and Phase 1 outcomes will be reported later this year. Among the most successful outcomes of the first pilot was the validation of a QAPP Practice Review screening tool for RHIPs, which was highly predictive of those who could benefit from an onsite practice review.
The College Board is committed to proceeding with Phase 2, with an initial pilot phase for Registered Speech-Language Pathologists (RSLPs), involving randomly selected RSLPs across four population groups: pre-school-age clients, school-age clients, adult clients, and a group for mixed client ages.
Like the first pilot phase of the project, and to validate a predictive screening tool for RSLPs, a randomly selected sample population will participate in both the screening and onsite practice reviews, the latter with a qualified QAPP (RSLP) Assessor.
Once the Phase 2 pilot outcomes and recommendations have been assessed, and if a predictive screening tool can be validated, the anonymous screening of all remaining RSLPs who provide clinical services will begin. As with Phase 1, and unlike the pilot phases, only where a RSLP did not successfully pass the screening stage will a follow-up onsite practice review be required.
More details of Phase 2 of the project will become available to SLPs over the next several months.
By participating in the College’s QAPP Program throughout the year, RAUDs, RHIPs, and RSLPs indicate to the public – for whom the College is mandated to protect – that they are maintaining their competence to practice and that they take their professional development and maintenance obligation seriously. Meeting this obligation is an important way to uphold the public’s trust in the professions that CSHBC regulates.
Members of the Board, core committees, and College staff are excited about the prospect of meeting one of CSHBC’s important strategic goals: developing the infrastructure for QAPP practice review assessment as part of the QAPP Program portfolio. CSHBC thanks registrants for their cooperation and assistance with this important initiative.
For more information, please contact the College at [email protected].
For detailed information about the Practice Review module, watch the following new CSHBC video: