There are 30 practitioner groups overseen by BC’s health regulatory colleges:
- Acupuncturists
- Audiologists
- Chiropractic Doctors (chiropractors)
- Certified Dental Assistants
- Dental Hygienists
- Dentists
- Dental Technicians
- Dental Therapists
- Denturists
- Dietitians
- Hearing Instrument Practitioners
- Massage Therapists
- Midwives
- Naturopathic Physicians (naturopaths)
- Nurse Practitioners
- Nurses
- Occupational Therapists
- Opticians
- Optometrists
- Pharmacists
- Pharmacy Technicians
- Physical Therapists (physiotherapists)
- Physicians and Surgeons
- Podiatric Surgeons (podiatrists)
- Practical Nurses
- Psychiatric Nurses
- Psychologists
- Registered Social Workers
- Speech-Language Pathologists
- Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Practitioners
Regulated health professionals’ requirements:
- Pass national and/or provincial entry-to-practice exam(s) and be familiar with the legal, professional, and ethical practice of their profession;
- Be registered with their regulatory college and renew registration annually;
- Be a college registrant to use certain “protected” professional titles;
- Comply with college bylaws;
- Comply with a code of ethics;
- Adhere to the scope of practice they can undertake within their professional limits;
- Meet quality assurance requirements;
- Meet professional standards of practice;
- Be subject to a complaints and discipline process if standards are not met; and
- Undertake a criminal record check every five years.
The BC Ministry of Health is conducting a review of the province’s framework for health profession regulation and is working on a plan for modernizing and strengthening the regulatory system. Find out more about regulatory reform in BC, and read the latest news, on how health profession regulators are evolving.