AGM Report from the Board

Nursing BC, Jul 2009 by Cartmel, Val

The following is excerpted from the Report from the Board, which was presented by the President at the 2009 CRNBC Annual General Meeting on June 5 in Vancouver and broadcast on the CRNBC website. The full text is available at www.crnbc.ca

It is my privilege, at this meeting to present a report from the Board - the 18 men and women elected or appointed to govern CRNBC. I hope you have now all seen the 2008 Annual Report (available at www.crnbc.ca).

As a further way of reporting to the public we serve, in September we will repeat an initiative that was introduced last year and publish a year in review report in daily newspapers throughout the province.This public report will highlight some of what the College has accomplished in fulfilling its mandate of public protection through the regulation of registered nurses and nurse practitioners. It is published to help meet our commitment to develop and maintain public awareness of the College and its work.

My report from the Board highlights our many activities and initiatives - those that are completed and those that are on-going. But first I would like to take a few minutes to reflect on the last few years of the College as it's grown from an idea to a legislated reality. I'd like to also add some of the observations I've made over that time.

The growth of the College has not been unlike growing a garden. There is an idea of what is wanted - you plant the seeds, watch things grow, identify what needs to be pruned back and what needs more room to flourish. It's in constant nourishment.

First, I would like to say what might already be obvious - I love my profession; I can't image being anything other than a registered nurse.

Having said that, nursing was not my lifelong ambition. In fact, if I asked each nurse what her or his reasons for entering the profession were, there would be as many answers as there are individuals. I sometimes wish that my reasons why were inspiring or romantic. What I can say is that my reasons were definitely caused by influence.

My story for becoming a nurse began when I was in first year sciences at the University of British Columbia. I had no thoughts of going into nursing; my plan was to become a teacher or a marine biologist. Then, while a student, I had my appendix out. While in hospital, I so admired the nurses who cared for me 24/7. 1 knew then that nursing was the career I wanted to pursue and I have never looked back.

I've been privileged to have been involved with both RNABC and CRNBC over the last 20 years. I was a member of the Board of RNABC and now, of course, the College. I've been both an observer and participant in debate and discussion with fellow board members and others prior to our transition to the College.

The debates were frequently based on questions like: What is the role of the College? What will this mean to the work of RNABC? What is the difference between an association and a college?

Our Mandate

Some of these debates and discussions continue even today as we enter into our fifth year under the Health Professions Act. The mandate of CRNBC is clearly articulated in legislation - protection of the public through the regulation of registered nurses and nurse practitioners.

How does today's mandate make us different today, than four years ago when we were RNABC?

For one, the Health Professions Act removed the association/advocacy role from our work. Before we became the College, we made significant efforts to have the Health Professions Act amended in order for the College to continue its past involvement in professional issues. We were unsuccessful in this quest and, as a result, have been very mindful of our obligation to act within the College's legislated duty to protect the public through the regulation of registered nurses and nurse practitioners.

There is no doubt that if we act outside of our legal authority, we could jeopardize the continued ability to selfregulate.

Today, CRNBC is responsible for setting standards, registering, supporting registrants to meet standards, conducting inquiries and disciplining. The College can only advocate in relation to regulatory issues.

Let me spend a few minutes to talk about how we support registrants.

Supporting Registrants

Supporting registrants to meet the Standards of Practice is quite focused within our mandate. For example, CRNBC 's Learning and Development Program provides a variety of learning opportunities designed for registrants to more fully understand the application of standards in their everyday work. Today this work is transitioning to electronic learning formats. The interest and uptake has been tremendous.

Our Library Program offers 24/7 library and reference services to assist registrants in their daily work, whether they are researching or designing new initiatives or involved in academic advancements.

The Practice Support Department has onsite staff and offsite offices as well as staff throughout the province. Regional staff work with registrants within the uniqueness of their geographic areas and provide support and consultation in a variety of ways, either one-on-one or in groups. These staff represent the College and its programs throughout B.C. They are our primary connection with a group of nurses who I like to call our "ambassadors" - the CRNBC workplace and student representatives.