The College of Occupational Therapists of BC is a proud founding partner of the BC Public Advisory Network (BC-PAN). The BC-PAN was established in 2019 as a joint initiative between a number of BC health profession regulators to encourage more comprehensive and meaningful public engagement on important issues related to health profession regulation.
The public members involved in the BC-PAN are asked to provide their feedback on a variety of topics to help guide practice standards and professional guidelines, strategic priorities, and communications directed at the public. BC-PAN members include both patients and caregivers with varying levels of experience with the health-care system, and representing different demographics in the population (gender, age, ethnicity, geographic location, health conditions, and practice setting experience).
Following a successful pilot phase in 2019, the College partners continued the BC PAN initiative and hosted three virtual meetings between September 2020 and February 2021. BC PAN members provided their perspectives on topics such as:
-virtual care
-appropriate use of social media by registrants
-their expectations about colleges’ codes of ethics
-what information should be available on a public register
-actions colleges can take on anti-racism, cultural safety and health equity
It can be challenging for any individual college to gather input from the public in a meaningful way. Partnering with other Colleges on the BC Public Advisory Network has made this possible and will influence how COTBC includes a public perspective in our work. We are excited to continue this important collaboration.
To learn more about the BC-PAN and the feedback provided so far, read the summary reports.
