News

On September 24, 2021, the College Board approved the addition of Part 10 to the Bylaws under the Health Professions Act, RSBC 1996, c.183, specifically, sections 10-1, 10-2, 10-3, 10-4, and 10-5.

Read the September/October issue of the College Connector.

The College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia held its 2021 Annual General Meeting virtually on September 24, 2021. A recording of the meeting is available here.

Ivermectin is an anthelmintic approved in Canada for veterinary and human use. In humans, ivermectin is only approved for treatment of parasitic infections (oral) and rosacea (topical). The most effective strategy for preventing COVID-19 continues to be immunization and all Health Canada approved vaccines provide a high level of protection.

The Leaving Practice practice standard has been revised to clarify that registrants must ensure that a contingency plan is in place in the event of sudden death or other circumstances where the registrant is abruptly unavailable.

The College would like to humbly acknowledge and reflect on Canada’s first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, which commemorates the history and ongoing trauma of Canada’s colonial past and residential school system. The College is also commemorating Orange Shirt Day, which honours the Indigenous children who were sent to residential schools.

At its meeting last week, the College Board expressed great concern and compassion for the challenges facing all of you as the pandemic continues in this fourth wave. On behalf of the Board, we offer you our deep gratitude and admiration for the unwavering commitment you have made to care for BC patients.

The College has published a revised version of the Laser Safety practice standard. Key edits include a title change, clarification on the definition of a medical laser and the inclusion of clear practice principles to communicate registrant expectations, including the responsibilities of the medical director.

The Federation of Medical Regulatory Authorities of Canada (FMRAC) has released a statement on Indigenous-specific racism in recognition of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on September 30. As a member of FMRAC, the College fully endorses the statement and its commitment.

The College library is experiencing outages with Ovid Medline, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews/EBM Reviews, full-text journals, and linked buttons in PubMed to the College library.

Registrants may be getting requests from patients for medical notes to be exempted from receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. Guidance is available to assist registrants with determining the validity of such requests.

Given broad vaccination coverage, COVID-19 should no longer pose a barrier to in-person practice. It is the joint position of the Provincial Health Officer, Ministry of Health, and the College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC that health care that includes in-person assessments and preventative